PliP^:mi(^v;:Kfy^;v.':::v 


tihravy  of  €:he  t:h«ological  ^tmin<xvy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 

Donation   of 
R.    L.    and  A.    Stuart 

BS 1 255 


A  COMMENTARY 


ON    THE 


BOOK  OF  LEYITIGUS, 


^jcpoaitotB  anti  practical. 


WITH  CRITICAL  NOTES 


BY    THE 

EEV.  ANDREW  a/bONAR, 

collage; 

AUTHOR   OF   "memoirs    OF    REV.    ROBERT    M'CHEYNE,"   "NARRATIVE    OF   A 
MISSION    OF   INQUIRY    TO    THE   JEWS,"   ETC.    ETC. 


"  For  whatsoever  things  were  written  aforetime  were  written  for  our  learning,  that  we, 
through  patience  and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures,  might  have  hope." — Rom.  xv.  4. 


NEW  YORK: 
ROBERT  CARTER  &  BROTHERS, 

No.  285   BROADWAY. 
1851. 


STEREOTYPED    BY 

THOMAS  B.  SMITH, 
216  William  Street. 


R.   CRAIGHEAD,    PRINTER   AND   STEREOTYPER, 
112   FULTON  STREET. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAei 

Nature  of  the  Book, vii 

I.    The  Burnt-Offering 11 

IL    The  Meat-Offering, 38 

III.  The  Peace-Offerings, 5*7 

IV.  The  Sin-Offering, 69 

V.    Sin-Offering  for  Sins  of  Inadvertency, 90 

V.     Continued. — The  Trespass-Offering, 103 

VI.     Same  Subject  Continued, 109 

VI.    Continued. — Special  Rules  for  Priests  who  Minister  at  the 

Altar  of  God, 116 

VII.    Same  Subject  Continued, 132 

VIII.    The  Priesthood  entering  on  their  Office,       ....  152 

IX.    Aaron's  Entrance  on  his  Office, 185 

X.     The  Fencing  of  the  Priestly  Ritual, 196 

XL    Remembrances  of  the  Broken  Law. — The  Clean  and  the 

Unclean, 212 

XII.     Original  Sin. — What  has  been  Transmitted  to  us,        .        .  238 

XIII.  The  Leprosy. — Indwelling  Sin. — Its  Horrid  Featm-es,         .  242 

XIV.  The  Leprosy  Removed,        .        .         .        .        .        .         .  261 

XV.    The  Secret  Flow  of  Sin  from  the  Heart  Typified  in  the  Run- 
ning Issue, 288 

^   XVL    The  Day  of  Atonement, 300 

XVIL    The  Use  of  Animal  Food  Regulated, 321 

XVIII.    Private  and  Domestic  Obligations. — Purity  in  Every  Rela- 
tion of  Life, 329 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIX.  Duties  in  the  Every  Day  Relations  of  Life,         .        .        .  344 

XX.  Warnings  against  the  Sins  of  the  Former  Inhabitants,         .  361 
XXL     Personal  Duties  of  the  Priests, 372 

XXII.    Household  Laws  regarding  Holy  Things. — First,  as  to  the 

Priests,  1-11 ;  then,  as  to  the  People,  17-33,       .        .384 

XXIII,  The  Public  Festivals,  or  Solemn  Convocations,    .        .        .  396 

XXIV.  Duty  of  Priests  when  out  of  Public  View,  .        .        .  426 
XXV.    The    Sabbatic    Year    and  Year    of   Jubilee. — Millennial 

Times, 442 

XXVI.    Israel's  Temporal  Blessings  in  Contrast  to  the  Curse,  .  4*70 

XXVII.     Entire  Devotion  to  God  induced  by  the  foregoing  View 

of  His  Character, 491 


PREFACE. 

Some  years  ago,  while  perusing  the  Book  of  Leviticus 
in  the  course  of  his  daily  study  of  the  Scriptures,  the 
author  was  arrested  amid  the  shadows  of  a  past  dispen- 
sation, and  led  to  write  short  notes  as  he  went  along. 
Not  long  after,  another  perusal  of  this  inspired  book — 
conducted  in  a  similar  way,  and  with  much  prayer  for 
the  teaching  of  the  Spirit  of  truth — refreshed  his  own 
soul  yet  more,  and  led  him  on  to  inquire  what  others 
had  gleaned  in  the  same  field.  Some  friends  who,  in 
this  age  of  activity  and  bustle,  find  time  to  delight 
themselves  in  the  law  of  the  Lord,  saw  the  notes,  and 
urged  their  publication. 

There  are  few  critical  difficulties  in  the  book ;  its 
chief  obscurity  arises  from  its  enigmatical  ceremonies. 
The  author  fears  he  may  not  always  have  succeeded  in 
discovering  the  precise  view  of  truth  intended  to  be 
exhibited  in  these  symbolic  rites ;  but  he  has  made  the 
attempt,  not  thinking  it  irreverent  to  examine  both  sides 
of  the  veil,  now  that  it  has  been  rent.  The  Holy 
Spirit  surely  wishes  us  to  inquire  into  what   he  has 


VI  PREFACE. 

written  ;  and  the  unhealthy  tone  of  many  true  Christians 
may  be  accounted  for  by  the  too  plain  fact  that  they  do 
not  meditate  much  on  the  whole  counsel  of  Grod.  Ex- 
perience, as  well  as  the  Word  itself  (Ps.  i.  2,  3),  would 
lead  us  to  value  very  highly  the  habit  of  deeply  ponder- 
ing the  discoveries  of  the  mind  of  Grod  given  in  all  parts 
of  Scripture,  even  the  darkest. 

Throughout  this  Commentary,  the  truth  that  saves, 
and  the  truth  that  sanctifies,  is  set  before  the  reader  in  a 
variety  of  aspects,  according  as  each  typical  rite  seemed 
to  suggest.  It  may  thus  be  useful  to  all  classes  of  per- 
sons. And  what,  if  even  some  of  the  house  of  Israel 
may  here  have  their  eye  attracted  to  the  Saviour,  while 
giving  heed  to  the  signification  of  those  ceremonies  which 
to  their  fathers  were  signposts  (nimi<,  Ps.  Ixxiv.  9)  in  the 
way  of  life.  It  is  a  book  which  Romaine  called,  ''  The 
Gospel  according  to  Leviticus  ;"  and  of  which  Berridge 
said,  "It  is  the  clearest  book  of  Jewish  Gospel." 


THE   NATURE    OF   THE   BOOK 


There  is  no  book,  in  the  whole  compass  of  that  inspired 
Volume  which  the  Holy  Ghost  has  given  us,  that  con- 
tains more  of  the  very  words  of  Grod  than  Leviticus. 
It  is  Grod  that  is  the  direct  speaker  in  almost  every  page  ; 
his  gracious  words  are  recorded  in  the  form  wherein 
they  were  uttered.  This  consideration  cannot  fail  to 
send  us  to  the  study  of  it  with  singular  interest  and 

attention. 

It  has  been  called  ''  Leviticus,''  because  its  typical  in- 
stitutions, in  all  their  variety,  were  committed  to  the 
care  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  or  to  the  priests,  who  were  of 
that  tribe.  The  Greek  translators  of  the  Pentateuch 
devised  that  name.  The  Talmud,  for  similar  reasons, 
calls  it  n^5in>r|  n^iin,  "the  law  of  the  priests."  But 
Jewish  writers  in  general  are  content  with  a  simpler 
title  ;  they  take  the  first  words  of  the  book  as  the  name, 
calling  it  ^'lV^^.^  "  Vayikra,"  q.  d.,  the  book  that  begins 
with  the  words,  "And  the  Lord  called." 

It  carries  within  itself  the  seal  of  its  Divine  Origin. 
As  an  internal  proof  of  its  author  being  Divine,  some 
have  been  content  to  allege  the  prophecy  contained  in 
chap,  xxvi.,  the  fulfilment  of  which  is  spread  before  the 
eyes  of  all  the  earth.     But  if,  in  addition  to  this,  we  find 


VUl  THE  NATURE  OF  THE  BOOK. 

every  chapter  throughout  presenting  views  of  doctrine 
and  practice  that  exactly  dovetail  into  the  unfigurative 
statements  of  the  New  Testament,  surely  we  shall  then 
acknowledge  that  it  bears  the  impress  of  the  Divine  mind 
from  beginning   to  end. 

The  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God,  with  all  that  follows 
in  its  train,  may  be  found  in  Leviticus.  This  is  the 
glorious  attraction  of  the  book  to  every  reader  who  feels 
himself  a  sinner.  The  New  Testament  has  about  forty 
references  to  its  various  ordinances. 

The  rites  here  detailed  were  typical ;  and  every  type 
was  designed  and  intended  by  God  to  bear  resemblance 
to  some  spiritual  truth.  The  likeness  between  type  and 
antitype  is  never  accidental.  The  very  excellency  of 
these  rites  consists  in  their  being  chosen  by  God  for  the 
end  of  shadowing  forth  "  good  things  to  come"  (Heb.  x. 
1).  As  it  is  not  a  mere  accidental  resemblance  to  the 
Lord's  body  and  blood  that  obtains  in  the  bread  and  wine 
used  in  the  Lord's  supper,  but  on  the  contrary,  a  like- 
ness that  made  the  symbols  suitable  to  be  selected  for 
that  end ;  so  is  it  in  the  case  of  every  Levitical  type. 
Much  of  our  satisfaction  and  edification  in  tracing  the 
correspondence  between  type  and  antitype  will  depend 
on  the  firmness  with  which  we  hold  this  principle. 

If  it  be  asked  why  a  typical  mode  of  showing  forth 
truth  was  adopted  to  such  an  extent  in  those  early  days, 
it  may  be  difficult  to  give  a  precise  answer.  It  is  plain 
such  a  method  of  instruction  may  answer  many  purposes. 
It  may  not  only  meet  the  end  of  simplifying  the  truth,  it 
may  also  open  the  mind  to  comprehend  more,  while  it 
deepens  present  impressions  of  things  known.  The  exist- 
ence of  a  type  does  not  always  argue  that  the  thing 
typified  is  obscurely  seen,  or  imperfectly  known.      On 


THE  NATURE  OF  THE  BOOK.  IX 

the  contrary,  there  was  a  type  in  the  Garden  of  Eden — 
the  tree  of  life, — while  life,  in  all  its  meaning,  was  fully 
comprehended  by  Adam.  In  all  probability,  there  will 
be  typical  objects  in  the  millennial  age ;  for  there  is  to 
be  a  river  which  shdll  flow  from  Jerusalem  to  water  the 
valley  of  Shittim  (Joel  iii.  18),  the  same  of  which 
Ezekiel  (xlvii.  1)  and  Zechariah  (xiv.  8)  speak.  This 
river  is  said  to  be  for  the  healing  of  the  Dead  Sea,  while 
on  its  banks  grow  majestic  trees,  whose  leaves  are  for 
the  healing  of  the  nations.  No  doubt  a  spiritual  signifi- 
cance lies  hid  in  these  visible  signs ;  the  visible  symbol 
seems  to  be  a  broad  seal  and  sign  of  the  peculiar  truth 
manifested  in  these  days,  viz.,  the  overflowing  stream 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  (who  shall  be  poured  out  at  Jerusalem 
on  the  house  of  David  first),  winding  its  course  over  earth 
to  convey  saving  health  to  all  nations.  Certain  it  is 
that  types  do  not  necessarily  imply  that  the  antitype  is 
dimly  known.  The  Lord  may  use  them  as  he  uses  Gros- 
pel  ordinances  at  present,  to  convey  light  to  us,  and  leave 
more  indelible  impressions.  A  Grerman  writer  (Hahn) 
has  said,  "  Types  were  institutions  intended  to  deepen, 
expand,  and  ennoble  the  circle  of  thoughts  and  desires, 
and  thus  heighten  the  moral  and  spiritual  wants,  as  well 
as  the  intelligence  and  susceptibility  of  the  chosen  peo- 
ple."'* And  not  less  truly  is  this  point  touched  upon  by 
the  Reformer  Tindal  in  his  "  Prologue  into  the  Third 
Book  of  Moses."  "  Though  sacrifices  and  ceremonies 
can  be  no  ground  or  foundation  to  build  upon — that  is, 
though  we  can  prove  naught  with  them — yet,  when  we 

*  Southey  says  of  Laud :  "  He  began  his  dying  address  in  that  state  of 
calm  but  deepest  feeling,  when  the  mind  seeks  for  fancies,  types,  and  dim 
similitudes,  and  extracts  from  them  consolation  and  strength."  (Book  of 
the  Church.) 

1# 


X  THE  NATUKE  OF  THE  BOOK. 

have  once  found  out  Christ  and  his  mysteries,  then  we 
may  borrow  figures,  that  is  to  say,  allegories,  similitudes, 
and  examples,  to  open  Christ,  and  the  secrets  of  God  hid 
in  Christy  even  unto  the  quick ;  and  can  declare  them 
more  lively  and  sensibly  with  them  than  with  all  the 
words  of  the  world.  For  similitudes  have  more  virtue 
and  power  with  them  than  bare  words,  and  lead  a  man's 
understanding  further  into  the  pith  and  marrow  and 
spiritual  understanding  of  the  thing,  than  all  the  words 
that  can  be  imagined."  Again  he  says,  ''Allegories 
prove  nothing ;  but  the  very  use  of  allegories  is  to  de- 
clare and  open  a  text  that  it  may  be  better  perceived  and 
understood."  "  There  is  not  a  better,  more  vehement,  or 
mightier  thing  to  make  a  man  understand  withal  than 
an  allegory.  For  allegories  make  a  man  quick-witted, 
and  print  wisdom  in  him,  and  make  it  to  abide,  when 
bare  words  go  but  in  at  the  one  ear  and  out  at  the  other." 
The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  lays  down  the  principles 
upon  which  we  are  to  interpret  Leviticus.  The  speci- 
mens there  given  of  types  applied,  furnish  a  model  for 
our  guidance  in  other  cases.  And  the  writer's  manner 
of  address  in  that  Epistle  leads  us  to  suppose  that  it  was 
no  new  thing  for  an  Israelite  thus  to  understand  the 
ritual  of  Moses.  No  doubt  old  Simeon  (Luke  ii.  25) 
frequented  the  temple  daily  in  order  to  read  in  its  rites 
future  development  of  a  suffering  Saviour,  as  well  as  to 
pray  and  worship.  Anna,  the  prophetess,  did  the  same  ; 
for  all  these  knew  that  they  prophesied  of  the  grace  that 
was  to  come  to  us,  and,  therefore,  inquired  and  searched 
diligently.  (1  Pet.  i.  10.)  Had  Aaron,  or  some  other 
holy  priest  of  his  line,  been  "carried  away  in  the  spirit'^ 
and  shown  the  accomplishment  of  all  that  these  rites  pre- 
figured, how  joyful  ever  afterwards  would  have  been  his 


THE  NATURE   OF  THE   BOOK.  xi 

daily  service  in  the  sanctuary.  When  shown  the  great 
antitype,  and  that  each  one  of  these  shadows  pictured 
something  in  the  person  or  work  of  that  Redeemer,  then, 
ever  after,  to  handle  the  vessels  of  the  sanctuary,  would 
be  rich  food  to  his  soul.  It  would  be  "  feeding  beside 
the  still  waters  and  in  green  pastures."  For  the  bon- 
dage of  these  elements  did  not  consist  in  sprinkling 
the  blood,  washing  in  the  laver,  waving  the  wave- 
shoulder,  or  the  like  ;  but  in  doing  all  this  without  per- 
ceiving the  truth  thereby  exhibited.  Probably  to  a  true 
Israelite,  taught  of  Grod,  there  would  be  no  more  of 
bondage  in  handling  these  material  elements,  than  there 
is  at  this  day  to  a  true  believer  in  handling  the  symbolic 
bread  and  wine  through  which  he  "  discerns  the  body 
and  blood  of  the  Lord."  It  would  be  an  Israelite's  hope 
every  morning,  as  he  left  the  "dwellings  of  Jacob,"  to  see 
"in  the  gates  of  Zion,"  more  of  the  Lamb  of  G-od,  while 
gazing  on  the  morning  sacrifice.  "  I  will  compass  thine 
altar,  0  Lord,  that  I  may  publish  with  the  voice  of  thanks- 
giving, and  tell  of  all  thy  wondrous  works."  (Ps.  xxvi. 
6,  7.)  And,  as  the  sun  declined,  he  would  seek  to  have 
his  soul  again  anointed,  after  a  busy  day's  vexations,  by 
beholding  the  evening  Lamb. 

Tindal  says,  that  while  there  is  "  a  star-light  of  Christ" 
in  all  the  ceremonies,  there  is  in  some  so  truly  "  the 
light  of  the  broad  day,"  that  he  cannot  but  believe  that 
G-od  had  showed  Moses  the  secrets  of  Christ,  and  the 
very  manner  of  his  death  beforehand,  v  At  all  events,  it 
was  what  they  did  see  of  Christ  through  this  medium 
that  so  endeared  to  them  the  tabernacle  and  the  temple- 
courts.  It  was  the  very  home  of  their  souls.  "  How 
amiable  are  thy  tabernacles,  0  Lord  of  Hosts  !  My  soul 
longeth,  yea  even  fainteth  for  the  courts  of  the  Lord !" 


Xll  THE  NATURE  OF  THE   BOOK. 

(Ps.  Ixxxiv.  1,  2.)     And  it  is  thus  we  can  understand 
how  those  thousands  (or  rather,  tens  of  thousands)  who 
believed,  were  all  "  zealous  of  the  law."     (Acts  xxi.  20.) 
The  Christian  elders  of  Jerusalem,  including  James  and 
other  Apostles,  lent  their  sanction  to  their  zeal  in  some 
degree  ;  and  Paul  himself  saw  nothing  necessarily  sinful 
in  it.     For  it  was  all  well  if  they  used  the  law  only  as 
"  their  schoolmaster  to  bring  them  to  Christ."     (Gral.  iii. 
24.)     It  must  have  been  thus  that  Paul  himself  employ- 
ed his  thoughts  while  ''purifying  himself"  in  the  tem- 
ple, and  engaging  in  the  other  ordinances  regarding  vows. 
(Acts  xxi.  26.)     His  thoughts  would  be  on  the  Antitype  • 
and  possibly  the  actual  performing  of  these  rites  by  a 
fully  enlightened  soul  might  lead  to  some  distinct  views 
of  truth  contained  in  them,  which  would  have  escaped 
the  observation  of  a  mere  spectator.     And,  if  we  may 
throw  out  a  conjecture  on  a  subject  where  Millenarians 
and  Anti-millenarians  are  alike  at  sea — is  it  not  possible 
that  some  such  end  as  this  may  be  answered  by  the  tem- 
ple which  Ezekiel  foretells  as  yet  to  be  built  (chap,  xl., 
&c.)  ?     Believing  nations  may  frequent  that  temple  in 
order  to  get  understanding  in  these  types  and  shadows. 
They  may  go  up  to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house,  to 
be  there  taught  his  ways.     (Isa.  ii.  3.)     In  that  temple 
they  may  learn  how  not  one  tittle  of  the  law  has  failed. 
As  they  look  on  the  sons  of  Zadok  ministering  in  that 
peculiar  sanctuary,  they  may  learn  portions  of  truth  with 
new  Impressiveness  and  fulness.     Indeed,  the  very  fact 
that  the  order  of  arrangement  in  Ezekiel  entirely  differs 
from  the  order  observed  in  either  tabernacle  or  temple, 
and  that  the  edifice  itself  is  reared  on  a  plan  varying 
from  every  former  sanctuary,  is  sufficient  to  suggest  the 
idea  that  it  is  meant  to  cast  light  on  former  types  and 


THE   NATURE   OF  THE   BOOK.  XIU 

shadows.  Many  Tievitioal  rites  appear  to  us  unmeaning  ; 
but  they  would  not  do  so  if  presented  in  a  new  relation. 
As  it  is  said  of  the  rigid  features  of  a  marble  statue,  that 
they  may  be  made  to  move  and  vary  their  expression  so 
as  even  to  smile,  when  a  skilful  hand  knows  how  to 
move  a  bright  light  before  it ;  so  may  it  be  with  these 
apparently  lifeless  figures,  in  the  light  of  that  bright  Mil- 
lennial Day.  At  all  events,  it  is  probably  then  that  this 
much-neglected  Book  of  Leviticus  shall  be  fully  appre- 
ciated. Israel — the  good  Olive-tree — shall  again  yield  its 
fatness  to  the  nations  round.  (Rom.  xi.  17.)  Their 
ancient  ritual  may  then  be  more  fully  understood,  and 
blessed  truth  found  beaming  forth  from  long  obscurity. 
When  Jesus,  the  High  Priest,  comes  forth  from  the 
holiest,  there  may  be  here  fountains  of  living  water  to 
which  he  shall  lead  us — himself  seen  to  be  the  glorious 
Antitype,  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega ! 

But  let  us  proceed  to  the  contents  of  this  Book.  It 
will  be  found  that  it  contains  a  full  system  of  truth,  ex- 
hibiting sin  and  the  sinner,  grace  and  the  Saviour ;  com- 
prehending, also,  details  of  duty,  and  openings  into  the 
ages  to  come, — whatever,  in  short,  bears  upon  a  sinner's 
walk  with  a  reconciled  Grod,  and  his  conversation  in  this 
present  evil  world.  Our  Heavenly  Father  has  conde- 
scended to  teach  his  children  by  most  expressive  pictures  ; 
and,  even  in  this,  much  of  his  love  appears. 

The  one  great  principle  of  interpretation  which  we 
keep  before  us,  is  Apostolic  practice.  This  is  the  key 
we  have  used.  We  find  the  sacred  writers  adduce  the 
likeness  that  exists  between  the  thing  that  was  typified 
and  the  type  itself,  and  resting  satisfied  there.  So  we 
lay  down  this  as  our  great  rule,  there  must  be  obvious 
resemblance.     And  next,  we  search  into  these  types,  in 


XIV  THE  NATURE  OF  THE  BOOK. 

the  belief  that  Christ  is  the  nentre-truth  of  revelation; 
and  surely  no  principle  is  more  obviously  true?  The 
body  or  substance  of  the  law  is  Christ  (Col.  ii.  17)  and 
types  are  a  series  of  shadows  projected  from  Christ  "  the 
body."  It  is  this  Messiah  that  has  been,  from  the  be- 
ginning, the  chief  object  to  be  unveiled  to  the  view  of 
men ;  and  in  the  fact  that  New  Testament  light  has 
risen,  lies  our  advantage  in  searching  what  these  things 
signify.  Mr.  M'Cheyne,  of  Dundee,  thus  expressed  him- 
self, on  one  occasion,  regarding  this  point,  in  a  letter  to 
a  friend  : — "  Suppose,"  said  he,  "  that  one  to  whom  you 
were  a  stranger  was  wrapt  in  a  thick  veil,  so  that  you 
could  not  discern  his  features.  Still  if  the  lineaments 
were  pointed  out  to  you  through  the  folds,  you  could 
form  some  idea  of  the  beauty  and  form  of  the  veiled  one. 
But  suppose  that  one  whom  you  know  and  love — whose 
features  you  have  often  studied  face  to  face — were  to  be 
veiled  up  in  this  way,  how  easily  you  could  discern  the 
features  and  form  of  this  Beloved  One !  Just  so,  the 
Jews  looked  upon  a  veiled  Saviour,  whom  they  had 
never  seen  unveiled.  We,  under  the  New  Testament, 
look  upon  an  unveiled  Saviour ;  and,  going  back  on  the 
Old,  we  can  see,  far  better  than  the  Jews  could,  the  fea- 
tures and  form  of  Jesus  the  Beloved,  under  that  veil. 
In  Isaac  offered  (G-en.  xxii.),  in  the  scape-goat  (Lev. 
xvi.),  in  the  shadow  of  the  great  rock  (Isa.  xxxii.  2),  in 
the  apple-tree  (Song  ii.  2),  what  exquisite  pictures  there 
are  seen  of  Jesus  !  and  how  much  more  plainly  we  can 
see  the  meaning  than  believers  of  old."  To  the  same 
purpose  John  Banyan  writes.  He  represents  Mansoul, 
in  his  "  Holy  War,"  as  feasting  at  the  Prince's  table,  and 
then  getting  riddles  set  before  them.  "  These  riddles 
were  made  upon  the  King  Shaddai,  and  Emmanuel  his 


THE  NATUEE  OF  THE  BOOK.  XV 

son,  and  upon  his  wars  and  doings  with  Mansoul.  .  . 
.  .  .  .  And  when  they  read  in  the  scheme  where 
the  riddles  were  writ,  and  looked  in  the  face  of  the 
Prince^  things  looked  so  like,  the  one  to  the  other,  that 
Mansoul  could  not  forbear  but  say,  ^  This  is  The  Lamb  ! 
This  is  The  Sacrifice  I  This  is  The  Rock  I  This  is 
The  Red  Cow!  This  is  The  Door!  and  This  is  The 
Way!''' 

The  space  of  a  month  was  occupied  in  delivering  the 
various  ordinances  of  this  Book  to  Moses.  This  is  proved 
from  Exod.  xl.  17,  compared  with  Num.  i.  1.  It  is  the 
revelations  of  that  one  memorable  month  that  are  now 
to  form  the  subject  of  our  study.  Witsius  (De  Mysterio 
Tab.)  has  remarked,  that  Grod  took  only  six  days  to 
creation,  but  spent  forty  days  with  Moses  in  directing 
him  to  make  the  tabernacle — because  the  work  of  grace 
is  more  glorious  than  the  work  of  creation.  And  so  we 
find  the  law  from  Sinai  occupying  three  days  at  most, 
while  these  rules  that  exhibited  the  love  and  grace  of 
God  are  spread  over  many  weeks. 


€^t  l^urtit-dDffning. 


"  BEHOLD  THE  LAMB  OF  GOD,  THAT  TAKETH  AWAY  THE  SIN  OF  THE  "WORLD, 

John  i.  29. 


The  tabernacle  was  that  tent  whose  two  apartments, 
separated  by  the  veil,  formed  the  HoIt/  place,  and  the 
Most  Holy.  This  "  tabernacle"  was  Grod's  dwelling-place 
on  earth ;  where  he  met  with  men — the  token  of  his 
returning  to  man  after  the  fall.  It  was  here  that  "  the 
voice  of  the  Lord  God"  was  often  heard,  as  in  Eden,  in 
the  cool  of  the  day. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Ver.  1.    "And  the  Lord  called  unto  Moses,  and  spake  unto  him  out  of 
the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  saying." 

The  cloud  that  guided  Israel*  had  descended  on  the 
tabernacle ;  and  while  this  pillar  stood  over  it,  the  glory 
of  the  Lord  filled  the  Holy  of  Holies  within.  (Exod.  xl. 
34.)  Eays  of  this  glory  were  streaming  out  all  around, 
perhaps  like  the  light  that  shone  from  Christ's  form  "  on 
the  holy  Mount,"  through  his  raiment,  till  the  whole  hill 
shone.  Out  of  the  midst  of  this  ''  excellent  glory" 
(2  Pet.  i.  17)  came  the  voice  of  the  Lord.    He  called  on 

*  In  Exod.  xL  84-38,  we  have  the  general  history  of  this  cloud ;  not  the 
narrative  of  its  motions  on  a  particular  occasion. 


18  THE   BUKNT-OFFERING. 

Moses  as  at  the  bush ;  and  having  fixed  the  undivided 
attention  of  Moses  on  him  that  spake,  Jehovah  utters  his 
mind.  What  love  is  here  !  The  heart  of  our  G-od,  in  the 
midst  of  all  his  own  joy,  yearning  to  pour  itself  out  to 
man ! 

The  date  of  these  laws  is  probably  a  few  days  after 
the  tabernacle  had  been  set  up.  They  are  given  not  from 
Sinai,  though  at  its  foot  (see  chap,  xxvii.  34) ;  but  from 
over  the  mercy-seat,  from  between  the  cherubim,  where 
the  glory  had  so  lately  found  a  resting-place.  Perhaps 
this  intimated  that  all  these  institutions  about  to  be  given 
bear  on  the  same  great  subject,  viz.,  Atonement  and  its 
effects.  Sinai  and  its  law,  a  few  weeks  before,  with  the 
dark  apostasy  in  the  matter  of  the  golden  calf,  had  lately 
taught  them  the  necessity  of  reconciliation,  and  made 
their  conscience  thirst  for  that  living  water.  And  it  is 
given  here.  The  first  clause  of  this  Book  declares  a 
reconciled  God : — "  The  Lord  called  to  Moses,^^  as  a 
man  to  his  friend. 

Ver.  2.  "  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  and  say  unto  them,  If  any 
man  of  you  bring  an  offering  unto  the  Lord  ye  shall  bring  your 
offering*  of  the  cattle,  even  of  the  herd  and  of  the  flock." 

When  the  Lord  said,  "  Speak  to  the  children  of 
Israel,^^  instead  of  himself  addressing  them,  it  taught 
the  people  their  need  of  a  Mediator.  It  was  as  if  he  had 
said,  These  things  are  addressed  to  sinners  who  cannot 
see  my  face  or  hear  my  voice,  except  through  a  daysman. 

The  offerings  first  spoken  of  are  those  that  are  to  be 
wholly  consumed, — types  of  complete  exhaustion  of 
wrath.     In  these  cases,   everything  about  the    animal 

*  The  Septuagint  render  this  "  npoaoiaers  ra  iuypa  vixdvP  Hence,  perhaps, 
Heb.  viii.  3,  gifts  and  sacrifices." 


CHAPTEE  I.  19 

was  consumed,  sinews,  horns,  bones,  hoof,  the  wool  on 
the  sheep's  head,  and  the  hair  on  the  goat's  beard. 
(Willet.)  Hence  they  were  called  Whole  burnt-offer- 
ings, "  oAoxaurWiUara."  God  prescribes  the  symbols  of 
atonement,  even  as  he  fixes  on  the  ransom  itself.  It 
is  a  sovereign  G-od  that  sinners  are  dealing  with ;  and  in 
so  doing,  he  fixed  on  the  herd  and  the  flock,  as  the  only 
class  of  cattle  (n^aha),  or  four-footed  beasts,  that  he  would 
accept.  If  we  are  to  inquire  into  a  reason  for  this  be- 
yond his  mere  sovereignty,  there  are  two  that  readily 
present  themselves  as  every  way  probable.  First,  oxen, 
sheep,  and  goats  (the  herd  and  flock),  are  easily  got 
by  men,  being  at  their  hand.  He  did  not  wish  to  make 
them  go  in  pursuit  of  beasts  for  offering,  for  salvation  is 
brought  to  our  hand  by  our  G-od.  Second,  the  character- 
istics of  these  animals  fit  them  to  be  convenient  types  of 
various  truths  relating  to  sacrifice.  The  ox  taken  from 
feeding  by  the  river-side,  or  the  sheep  from  its  quiet 
pastures, — perhaps  from  among  the  lilies  of  Sharon, — 
was  an  emblem  of  the  Redeemer  leaving  the  joy  and 
blessedness  of  his  Father's  presence,  where  he  had  been 
ever  "by  the  streams  that  make  glad  the  city  of  G-od." 
Another  reason  has  been  assigned,*  viz.,  all  these  were 
horned  animals.  Whether  in  the  East  such  were  reckon- 
ed more  valuable  than  other  animals  we  cannot  say.  It 
is,  at  least,  worthy  of  notice,  that  the  horn,  which  is 
the  symbol  of  power  and  honor,  is  found  in  them  all. 

Ver.  3.  "  If  liis  offering  be  a  burnt-sacrifice  of  the  herd,  let  him  offer  a 
male  without  blemish  ;  he  shall  offer  it  of  his  own  voluntary  will, 
at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  before  the  Lord." 

"  A  male,''''  representing  the  second  Adam,   "  without 

*  See  Guild's  "  Moses  UnveUed." 


20  THE  BUENT-OFFERING. 

blemish."  Christ,  by  his  one  offering,  makes  his  church 
spotless  (Ephes.  v.  27),  and,  therefore,  he  was  to  be  so 
himself.  Of  course,  therefore,  the  type  of  him  must  be 
so.  In  the  peace-offerings  it  was  different :  for  these 
typified  rather  the  effects  of  Christ's  atonement  on  the 
receiver  than  himself  atoning  ;  and  the  animal,  in  that 
case,  might  have  some  defect  or  blemish,  even  as  the 
effects  of  his  work  may  be  imperfectly  experienced  by  the 
sinner,  though  the  work  itself  is  perfect.  But  whatever 
speaks  of  Christ  himself  must  speak  of  perfection.  "  Be- 
fore the  Lord,''^  is  an  expression  ever  recurring :  it  is 
remarkable  that  it  should  occur  so  often.  But  perhaps 
it  was  because  the  Lord  meant  thus  to  insert  a  Divine 
safeguard  against  the  Socinian  idea,  that  sacrifice  chiefly 
had  reference  to  the  offerer,  not  to  God.  Every  sacri- 
fice is  brought  before  "the  great  Inhabitant  of  the  sanc- 
tuary." So  also  this  expression  guards  us  against  Popish 
error,  as  if  ministers  of  Christ  are  priests  in  the  same 
sense  as  the  line  of  Aaron.  No  ;  ministers  of  Christ  aj)- 
proach  men  in  behalf  of  Grod,  who  sends  them  as  am- 
bassadors, but  these  priests  approached  God  in  behalf  of 
guilty  men.  "  He  shall  offer  it  of  his  own  voluntary 
wilir  *  The  Gospel  warrant  is,  "  Whosoever  will,  let 
him  come."  There  must  be  a  willing  soul ;  none  but  a 
soul  made  willing  in  the  day  of  his  power  pays  any  re- 
gard to  atonement.  The  Lord  allows  all  that  are  will- 
ing to  come  to  the  atoning  provision.  "  Are  you  thirsty 
for  the  living  Grod?  for  yonder  altar's  sacrifice?"  might 
some  son  of  Aaron  say  to  a  fearful  soul.     The  fearful  con- 

\  Some  translate  this,  "  He  shall  offer  it  in  order  to  he  accepted^  I  do 
not  think  this  meaning  can  be  proved  to  be  tlie  true  one,  although  the 
Septuagint  generally  renders  the  expression  "  j£<crov  evavn  K.vfnov"  and 
the  Oxford  MS.  here  has  "  6ektov  dvrco  s^i\aaOai  ivavn  Kvpiov" 


CHAPTEE   I.  21 

science  replies,  "  I  cannot  well  tell  if  I  be  really  thirsty 
for  him."  "  But  are  you,  then,  ivilling  to  go  to  yonder 
altar  ?"  "  Yes,  I  am."  "  Then  you  may  come  ;  for  read 
Leviticus  i.  3,  and  see  that  it  is  neither  riches,  nor  pov- 
erty, moral  attainment  nor  deep  experience,  but  simply  a 
conscience  willing  to  be  bathed  in  atonement,  that  is 
spoken  of  by  the  Clod  of  Israel." 

Come  then  with  the  sacrifice  to  "  the  door  of  the 
tabernacle.''''  The  altar  was  near  the  door  of  the  taber- 
nacle ;  it  faced  it.  It  was  the  first  object  that  met  the 
eye  of  a  worshipper  coming  in.  The  priest  met  him 
there,  and  led  the  offerer  with  his  sacrifice  on  to  the  altar. 
The  presenting  any  sacrifice  there  was  a  type  of  the 
worshipper's  object  being  to  get  admission  into  the  pres- 
ence of  G-od  by  entrance  at  that  door.  ("Access,"  Eph. 
ii.  18.)  Thus  the  offerer  walked  silently  and  with  holy 
awe  to  the  door  of  the  tabernacle,  and  there  met  his  G-od. 

As  a  type  of  Christ,  it  would  declare  Christ's  willing 
offering  of  himself; — "  Lo,  I  come;" — and  how  he  was. 
in  the  fulness  of  time,  led  silently  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter.  For  we  are  to  distinguish  between  the  pre- 
sentation of  Christ  before  he  went  forth,  and  the  presen- 
tation of  himself  after  all  was  done. 

Ver.  4,     "  And  he  shall  put  his  hand  upon  the  head  of  the  burnt-offering ; 
and  it  shall  be  accepted  for  him  to  make  atonement  for  him." 

This  action  of  the  offerer  gives  us  a  view  oi  faith.  The 
offerer  puts  his  hand  on  the  same  head  whereon  the 
Lord's  hand  was  laid,  and  thereby  agrees  to  all  that  is 
implied  in  his  choosing  that  offering.  G-od  and  the  be- 
lieving soul  meet  at  the  same  point,  and  are  satisfied  by 
the  same  display  of  the  Divine  attributes. — "JEZe  shall 


22  THE   BURNT-OFFERING. 

put  his  handP^  It  is  yet  more  forcible  in  the  Hebrew, 
— "  He  shall  lean  his  hand"  (Ti^o^),  the  very  word  used 
in  Psalm  Ixxxviii.  7,  "  Thy  wrath  leaneth  hard  upon 
me."  We  lean  our  soul  on  the  same  person  on  whom 
Jehovah  leant  his  wrath. 

When  the  worshipper  had  thus  simply  left  his  sins, 
conveyed  by  the  laying  on  of  his  hand  upon  the  sacrifice, 
he  stands  aside.  This  is  all  his  part.  The  treatment 
of  the  victim  is  the  Lord's  part.  The  happy  Israelite 
who  saw  this  truth  might  go  home,  saying,  "  I  have  put 
my  hand  on  its  head  ;  it  shall  be  accepted  as  an  atone- 
ment." Faith  in  the  Lord's  testimony  was  the  ground  of 
an  Israelite's  peace  of  conscience,  nothing  of  it  rested  on 
his  own  frame  of  mind,  character,  or  conduct. 

Ver.  5.  "  And  he  shall  kill  the  bullock  before  the  Lord ;  and  the  priests, 
Aaron's  sons,  shall  bring  the  blood,  and  sprinkle  the  blood  round 
about  upon  the  altar  that  is  by  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the 
congregation." 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  here,  that  Outram,  Witsius, 
and  others  seem  to  have  proved  that,  in  Patriarchal  ages, 
every  man  might  offer  his  own  sacrifice.  Heads  of  fam- 
ilies, and  heads  of  a  tribe  or  nation,  often  acted  for  those 
imder  them ;  but  the  idea  that  the  first-born  were  the 
only  priests  is  without  foundation.  The  Patriarchal  age 
was  taught  that  every  man  must  take  Christ  for  himself 
personally.      In  the  Mosaic    economy,  however,  this  is 

*  We  make  no  reference,  here  or  elsewhere,  to  Jewish  traditions  as  to 
the  manner  in  which  the  thing  was  done,  and  the  words  used.  It  is 
strange  that  Ainsworth,  Patrick,  Outram,  and  others,  should  waste  so 
much  time  in  this  department.  Are  these  traditions  anything  more  tlian 
human  fancy, — often,  too,  of  a  somewhat  modern  date  ?  Augustine  judged 
well  when  he  said,  "  Quid  scriptura  vohierit,  non  quod  illi  opinati  fuerint, 
inquirendum" 


CHAPTER  I.  23 

altered.  There  is  another  truth  to  be  shown  forth.  Any- 
one (2  Chron.  xxx.  17,)  might  kill  the  animal — any  com- 
mon Levite,  or  even  the  offerer  himself — for  there  may- 
be many  executioners  of  Grod's  wrath.  Earth  and  hell 
were  used  in  executing  the  Father's  purpose  toward  the 
Prince  of  Life.  But  there  is  only  one  appointed  way  for 
dispensing  mercy  ;  and  therefore  only  priests  must  en- 
gage in  the  act  that  signified  the  bestowal  of  pardon. 

The  animal  is  ''  killed"  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord. 
And  now,  what  an  awfully  solemn  sight !  The  priest 
**  brings  forward  the  bloodP  As  he  bears  it  onward,  in 
one  of  the  bowls  of  the  altar,  all  gaze  upon  the  warm 
crimson  blood  I  It  is  the  life  !  So  that  when  the  blood 
is  thus  brought  forward,  the  life  of  the  sacrifice  is 
brought  before  Grod !  It  is  as  if  the  living  soul  of  the 
sinner  were  carried,  in  its  utter  helplessness  and  in  all 
its  filthiness,  and  laid  down  before  the  Holy  One  I 

The  blood  was  then  '•^sprinkled  round  about  upon  the 
altar P  The  life  being  taken  away,  the  sinner's  naked 
soul  is  exhibited  !  He  deserves  this  stroke  of  death — 
death  in  the  Lord's  presence,  as  a  satisfaction  to  his 
holiness !  As  the  blood  that  covered  the  door  on  the 
night  of  the  Passover  represented  the  inmates'  life  as 
already  taken,  so  the  blood  on  the  altar  and  its  sides  sig- 
nified that  the  offerer's  life  was  forfeited  and  taken.  It 
was  thus  that  Jesus  "  poured  out  his  soul  unto  death" 
for  us. 

It  was,  further,  "  round  about^''''  as  well  as  ''upon,"  the 
altar.  This  held  it  up  on  all  sides  to  view  ;  and  the  voice 
from  the  altar  now  is,  ''  Look  unto  me  and  be  saved,  all 
the  ends  of  the  earth."  All  within  the  camp  might  look 
and  live  ;  for  this  sacrifice  represents  Christ's  dying  as 
the  only  way  for  any,  and  the  sufficient  way  for  ali 


24  THE   BURNT-OFFEEING. 

The  altar  mentioned  here  was  the  "  altar  of  brass  ;^^ 
not  the  "  golden  altar,"  which  stood  in  the  Holy  Place.^ 

Ver.  6.   "  And  he  shall  flay  the  burnt-offering,  and  cut  it  into  his  pieces." 

Here,  again,  any  one  might  act,  as  well  as  the  priest ; 
for  any  of  G-od's  creatures  may  be  the  executioners  of  his 
wrath.  "  He  shall  flayP  The  skin  torn  from  off  the 
slain  animal  may  intimate  the  complete  exposure  of  the 
victim,  uncovered,  and  laid  open  to  the  piercing  eye  of 
the  beholder.  But  specially,  it  seems  to  show  that  there 
is  no  covering  of  inherent  righteousness  on  the  person  of 
the  sinner.  While  the  skin  was  unwounded,  the  inward 
parts  were  safe  from  the  knife  ;  thus,  so  long  as  man  had 
personal  righteousness  interposing^  no  knife  could  pierce 
his  soul.  But  the  taking  away  of  the  victim's  skin  showed 
that  the  sinner  had  no  such  protection  in  G-od's  view; 
even  as  the  bringing  of  such  skins  to  Adam  and  Eve, 
after  the  Fall,  showed  that  God  saw  them  destitute  of 
every  covering,  and  had,  in  his  mercy,  provided  clothing 
for  them  by  means  of  sacrifice. 

The  "  cutting  it  into  pieces'"^  would  leave  the  sacrifice, 
at  last,  a  mangled  mass  of  flesh  and  bones.  Entire  dis- 
location of  every  joint,  and  separation  of  every  limb  and 
member,  was  the  process.  By  this  the  excruciating  tor- 
ment due  to  the  sinner  seems  signified.  G-od's  sword — 
Abraham's  knife — spares  not  the  sacrifice ;  but  uses  its 
sharpness  and  strength  to  pierce  and  destroy  to  the  utter- 
most. The  slashing  sword  of  wrath  leaves  nothing  to  the 
guilty;  but,  as  "one  woe  is  past,  behold  another  woe 
Cometh  quickly."  Yet  it  is  "  into  his  piecesP  There 
was  an  order  observed — a  regularity  and  deliberate,  syste- 

*  See  some  remarks  on  the  brass  of  this  altar  in  a  note,  Chap.  xiv.  5. 


CHAPTEE  I.  25 

matic  procedure.  So  will  it  be  in  the  damnation  of  Ml ; 
every  pang  will  be  weighed  by  perfect  holiness,  every 
stroke  deliberated  upon  ere  it  is  inflicted.  And,  in  truth, 
this  deliberate  infliction  is  the  most  awful  feature  of  jus- 
tice. It  leaves  the  sufferer  hopeless.  The  stroke  is 
awfully  relentless,  determined,  righteous !  Such,  too, 
were  the  Saviour's  sufferings.  Every  part  and  pore  of  his 
frame  were  thus  mangled ;  every  member  of  his  body, 
every  feeling  of  his  soul.  There  was  not  an  action  of  his 
life,  or  desire  in  his  heart,  but  was  combined  with  woe. 
And  all  so  just,  that  from  the  cross  he  lifts  his  eyes  to  his 
Father,  and  looking  on  him  as  he  had  ever  done,  cries, 
''  But  thou  art  holy  !"     (Psa.  xxii.  3.) 

Ver.  1.   "And  the  sons*  of  Aaron  the  priest  shall  put  fire  upon  the 
altar,  and  lay  the  wood  in  order  upon  the  fire." 

This  verse  is  well  illustrated  by  Heb.  ix.  14,  "  Who, 
through  the  Eternal  Spirit,  offered  himself  without  spot 
to  God."  Christ  was  prepared,  in  his  human  nature, 
by  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Father  prepared  the  fire  of 
wrath,  filled  the  vial  with  that  wrath,  and  then  poured  it 
out.  The  Holy  Spirit,  as  Heb.  ix.  14  declares,  set  all 
things  in  order,  in  Christ's  human  nature,  ready  for  the 
vial  being  poured  out.  At  the  moment,  when  the  fire  came 
down  and  consumed  him,  love  to  Grod  and  man  was  at  its 
highest  pitch  in  his  soul — obedience,  holy  regard  for  the 
Divine  law,  hatred  of  sin,  love  to  man. 

The  ivood,  taken  by  itself,  is  not  a  type  of  anything ; 

*  We  sometimes  see  mistakes  committed  in  representations  of  Taber- 
nacle scenes.  Levites  are  made  to  act  as  priests,  and  Levites  are  exhibited 
blowing  the  silver  trumpets.  But  all  this  was  the  duty  of  Aaro7i's  so7is 
alone.  True,  they  were  Levites,  but  they  were  the  priestly  family  among 
the  Levites.     Priests  are  Levites,  but  all  Levites  are  not  priests. 

2 


26  THE   BUKNT-OFFEEING. 

but  it  must  be  taken  thus : — the  laying'  the  wood  in  order 
preparatory  to  the  fire  coming.  In  this  view  it  represents 
what  we  have  just  said. 

The  fire  was  from  that  fire  which  descended  from  the 
cloudy  pillar.  It  was,  therefore,  divinely  intended  to 
show  "^Ae  wrath  of  God  revealed  from  heaven'^  against 
all  ungodliness  of  men.  Indeed,  the  fire  from  the  bosom 
of  that  cloud  was  no  less  than  a  type  of  ivrath  from  the 
bosom  of  God  against  him  who  lay  in  his  bosom.  See 
Chap.  vi.  9,  and  ix.  24. 

Ver.  8.  "  And  the  priests,  Aaron's  sons,  shall  lay  the  parts,  the  head 
and  the  fat,  iu  order  upon  the  wood  that  is  on  the  fire  which  is 
upon  the  altar." 

The  fat  did,  of  course,  help  the  flame  to  consume  the 
head^  notwithstanding  the  gushing  stream  of  blood.  But 
what  is  the  type?  The  head  was  that  whereon  the 
offerer  leant  his  hand,  conveying  to  it  his  load  of  guilt. 
The  fat  (I'^Q)  is  a  word  that  occurs  only  thrice,  viz., 
here  and  ver.  12,  and  chap.  viii.  20.  Some  understand  it 
to  be  the  midriff ;  others,  the  fat  separated  from  the  rest 
of  the  flesh ;  but  there  is  no  way  of  arriving  at  the  cer- 
tain import.  The  type,  however,  is  obvious.  The  head 
and  this  fat  are  two  pieces, — one  outward,  the  other  in- 
ivard — thus  representing  the  whole  inner  and  outer  man. 
Christ's  whole  manhood,  body  and  soul,  was  placed  on 
the  altar,  in  the  fire,  and  endured  the  wrath  of  Grod. 
There  could  be  no  type  of  his  soul  otherwise  than  by  se- 
lecting some  inward  part  to  signify  it;  and  that  is 
done  here  by  the  "/a^."  It  is  on  the  fat,  too,  that  the 
fire  specially  kindles.  It  is  at  the  man's  heart,  feelings, 
and  desires  that  Grod  expresses  his  indignation  most  fully. 


CHAPTER   I.  27 

It  is  the  heart  that  is  desperately  wicked.     It  is  the  car- 
nal mind  that  is  enmity  against  Grod.* 

Ver.  9.  "  But  his  inwards  and  his  legs  shall  he  wash  in  water  :  and  the 
priest  shall  burn  all  on  the  altar,  to  be  a  burnt-sacrifice,  an  offering 
made  by  fire,  of  a  sweet  savor  unto  the  Lord." 

Answerable  to  the  "  head  and  faf  of  the  former  verse, 
as  parts  representing  the  inward  and  outward^  we  have 
here  the  legs  and  the  intestines.  The  legs  and  intes- 
tines may  be  supposed  to  be  selected  to  mark  outward 
and  inward  defilement — man's  polluted  nature  needing 
to  be  washed  in  water.  But  why  wash  these  in  water, 
if  they  are  to  be  burnt  ?  Because  here  is  a  sacrifice  for 
others — ^'  the  just  for  the  unjust" — Christ  taking  our 
place.  Now,  lest  anything  should  seem  to  indicate  per- 
sonal defilement  in  him,  these  portions  are  washed  in 
water,  and  then  presented.  Christ's  body  and  soul,  all 
his  person  and  all  his  acts,  were  holy.  His  walk  was 
holy,  and  his  inmost  affections  holy. 

Such  was  the  sacrifice  on  which  the  fire  came !  See 
Isaac  on  the  wood  !  but  the  knife  has  pierced  this  Isaac  ! 
— in  symbol,  the  original  and  immutable  sentence, 
"  Thou  shalt  dieP  Here  is  death  ;  and  it  has  come  in 
such  a  manner  as  not  to  leave  a  vestige  of  the  victim's 
former  aspect.  The  victim  is  all  disfigured,  and  has 
become  a  mass  of  disjointed  bones  and  mangled  flesh, 
because  thus  shall  it  be  in  the  case  of  the  lost  in  hell. 
The  lost  sinner's  former  joy,  and  even  all  his  relics  of 
comfort,  are  gone  forever — no  lover  or  friend  would  ever 

*  The  North  American  Indians  long  practised  sacrifice,  and  D.  Brainerd, 
in  his  Journal,  tells  us  of  a  great  sacrifice  where  "  they  burnt  the  fat  of 
the  inwards  in  the  fire,  and  sometimes  raised  the  flame  to  a  prodigious 
height." 


28  THE   BUKNT-OFFEKING. 

be  able  to  recognize  that  lost  one.  Even  as  it  was  with 
Jesus  when  he'took  the  position  of  the  lost ;  his  visage 
seemed  to  every  eye  more  marred  than  any  man,  and  his 
form  more  than  the  sons  of  men.  But,  lo !  as  if  even 
all  this  were  not  expressive  enough,  that  mangled  mass 
is  committed  to  the  flames,  and  in  the  consuming  flame, 
every  remaining  mark  of  its  former  state  disappears.  All 
is  ashes.  So  complete  is  the  doom  of  the  lost — as  testi- 
fied on  this  Altar  and  fulfilled  by  Jesus  when  he  took  the 
sinner's  place.  That  smoke  attests  that  Grod's  righteous- 
ness is  fully  satisfied  in  the  suffering  victim.  His  blood 
—his  soul — is  poured  out!  and  the  flame  of  Divine 
wrath  burns  up  the  suffering  one.  The  smoke  ascends 
— "a  sweet  savor  to  the  LordP  He  points  to  it,  and 
shows  therein  his  holy  name  honored  and  his  law  mag- 
nified. It  is  sweet  to  Jehovah  to  behold  this  sisrht  in  a 
fallen  world.  It  feminds  him  (so  to  speak)  of  that 
Sabbath- rest  over  the  first  creation  (Gren.  ii.  2,)  only  this 
is  deeper  rest,  as  being  rest  after  trouble.  This  ''  sweet 
savor"  is  literally  '^  savor  of  resP^  (nin^s  n^'n)  ;  as  if  the 
savor  stayed  his  wrath  and  calmed  his  soul.  So  Eph.  v. 
2.  And,  at  the  view  of  that  ascending  smoke,  more  joyful 
hallelujahs  are  sung  than  will  be  heard  over  the  smoke 
of  the  pit.  (Rev.  xix.  3.)  For  here  love  has  free  scope 
as  well  as  righteousness.  What  a  rest  will  the  millen- 
nial and  heavenly  rest  be,  when,  in  addition  to  other 
elements,  it  has  in  it  this  element  of  perfect  satisfaction  ! 
"He  shall  rest  in  his  love.''''     (Zeph.  iii.  17.) 

Such,  then,  is  the  "  ox  and  bullock  that  has  horns  and 
hoofs'^  (Psa.  Ixix.  31)  ;  and  such,  too,  the  meaning  of  the 
offering.  The  antitype  set  forth  in  Psa.  Ixix.  has 
magnified  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  set  aside  the 
type. 


CHAPTER   I.  29 

Ver.  10.     "  And  if  his  oflfering  be  of  the  flocks,  namely,  of  the  sheep  or  of  the 
goats  for  a  burnt  sacrifice,  he  shall  bring  it  a  male  without  blemish." 

It  appears  that  wealthier  men  generally  selected  oxen 
as  their  offering  ;*  and  men  less  able  took  sheep  or  goats ; 
while  ver.  14  shows  that  those  yet  poorer  brought  doves. 
G-od  thus  left  the  sacrifice  open  alike  to  the  ricli^  the 
middle  classes,  and  the  laboring  poor.  For  in  Jesus 
Christ  there  is  neither  Greek  nor  Jew,  barbarian  nor 
Scythian,  bond  nor  free ;  he  is  within  reach  of  all  alike. 
Our  High  Priest  welcomes  sinners  under  the  wide  name, 
''  Him  that  cometli'^  (John  vi.  37) ;  the  advancing  foot- 
steps of  a  sinner  to  his  altar,  whether  he  be  great  or 
small,  is  a  sweet  sound  in  our  Aaron's  ear. 

Here  is  specially  included  the  offering  of  the  Lamb. 
Morning  and  evening  this  was  done  by  the  priest  for  all 
Israel.  "  He  was  led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter." f  (Isa. 
liii.  7.)     Every  day  that  picture  was  exhibited  to  Israel. 

Yer.  11,  "  And  he  shall  kill  it  on  the  side  of  the  altar  northward,  before 
the  Lord ;  and  the  priests,  Aaron's  sons,  shall  sprinkle  his  blood 
round  about  upon  the  altar." 

There  is  a  peculiarity  here  which  does  not  occur  in  the 
sacrifices  of  the  herd,  namely,  it  is  to  be  killed  on  the 
north  side  of  the  altar.  One  obvious  reason  seems  to  be 
this,  there  was  a  necessity,  for  the  sake  of  order,  that 
there  should  be  a  separate  place  for  killing  the  oxen  and 
the  sheep.    No  quarter  of  the  heavens  was  sacred ;  and 

*  That  is,  oxen  were  always  part  of  their  sacrifice.  Thus  Numbers 
vii.  and  1  Chron.  xxix.  21. 

f  An  old  writer  asks,  why  Christ  is  called  so  often  "  the  Lamb  of 
God,"  and  not  "  the  ox,  or  the  ram,  of  God."  The  reply  is ;  because  these 
were  not  offered  "  every  day,"  whereas  the  lamb  was  a  daily  ofiering,  and 
therefore  fitted  to  proclaim  Christ's  blood  as  always  ready  for  use.  It 
being  the  type  of  innocence  would  be  another  reason. 


30  THE  BURN"T- OFFERING. 

since,  at  other  times,  the  sacrifice  was  presented  on  the 
east  side,  a  variety  like  this  answered  the  purpose  of  pro- 
claiming that  Jesus  is  offered  to  any  soul  in  any  nation, 
east  or  north,  i.  e.  from  east  to  west,  north  to  south ;  his 
death  is  presented  to  the  view  of  all,  to  be  believed  by 
men  as  soon  as  they  see  it.  "  Look  unto  me  and  be  ye 
saved,  all  ends  of  the  earth."* 

Ver.  12,  13.  "  And  he  shall  cut  it  into  his  pieces,  with  his  head  and  his 
fat ;  and  the  priest  shall  lay  them  in  order  on  the  wood  that  is  on 
the  fire  which  is  upon  the  altar.  But  he  shall  wash  the  inwards  and 
the  legs  with  water :  and  the  priest  shall  bring  it  all  and  burn  it 
upon  the  altar  :  it  is  a  burnt-sacrifice,  an  offering  made  by  fire,  of  a 
sweet  savor  unto  the  Lord." 

The  sheep  or  goat  is  not  commanded  to  be  ''''flayed^'' 
as  ver.  6  commands  as  to  the  ox  or  bullock ;  perhaps 
hQGQMQQ  flaying  signified  the  defencelessness  of  the  vic- 
tim left  without  a  covering.  Now,  the  sheep  or  goat  is, 
by  its  very  nature,  defenceless  enough.  Our  attention, 
therefore,  in  this  type,  is  rather  fixed  on  the  complete 
stroke  of  the  knife,  that  separates  all  into  its  pieces  ready 
for  the  fire.  "When  the  Lord  said,  "Awake,  0  sword, 
against  my  shepherd!"  (Zech.  xiii.  7,)  the  Saviour  was 
smitten  to  the  very  soul,  and  wrath  came  down  on  him 
like  fire. 

In  ver.  13,  the  words,  "  and  shall  bring  it  all^"*  inti- 
mate the  solemn  care  with  which  the  priest  advanced  to 
the  spot  and  lighted  the  wood,  attending  to  every  point, 
although  his  offering  was  one  of  the  flock^  and  not  of  the 

*  Some  have  tried  without  success  to  discover  a  deeper  meaning  in  the 
^^ north"  and  have  suggested  that  the  omission  of  it  in  Psa.  Ixxv.  6 
strengthens  this  idea.  But  in  that  passage  "  south'^  also  is  omitted,  the  He- 
brew being  la'i^^,  "from  the  desert ;"  referring  to  the  caravans,  which, 
amid  all  their  rare  commodities,  never  brought  the  gift  spoken  of. 


4- 


CHAPTER  I.  31 

herd.  This  clause  seems  intended  to  put  equal  honor  on 
the  offering  of  the  flock  as  on  that  of  the  herd,  for  the 
antitype  is  all  that  gives  either  of  them  any  importance. 

The  other  particulars  are  the  same  as  those  men- 
tioned vers.  7-9. 

How  simple  the  rules  laid  down  for  ordering  his  favo- 
rite type,  the  lamb  I  But  let  us  not  fail  to  notice  that 
the  use  made  of  the  lamb  is  what  we  are  chiefly  called  to 
observe — not  the  lamb  itself  in  particular  ;  as  if  to  show 
that  it  is  not  Chrisfs  meek  nature,  but  Christ,  the  meek 
and  lowly  one,  in  his  connection  with  the  altar,  that  we 
ought  to  be  reminded  of  by  the  name  of  "  Lamb.^^  If  it 
had  been  his  character  only,  or  chiefly,  that  was  referred 
to  in  that  name,  "  Lamb  of  Grod,"  there  would  have  been 
no  propriety  in  typifying  him  by  the  ''  ox,"  and  the 
"  goat."  But,  if  the  manner  of  his  death  and  the  inten- 
tion of  his  sufferings  were  mainly  referred  to,  then  all  is 
appropriate. 

BURNT-OFFERING    OF    FOWLS. 

Ver.  14.  "  And  if  the  burn1>aacrifice  for  his  offering  to  the  Lord  be  of 
fowls,  then  shall  he  bring  his  offering  of  turtle-doves,  or  of  young 
pigeons." 

In  John  ii.  14,  we  find  this  third  class  of  offerings  re- 
ferred to,  along  with  the  other  two — oxen,  sheep,  and 
doves. 

From  chap.  v.  7,  we  learn  that  the  poorer  class  were 
to  bring  this  sort  of  sacrifice.  "  To  the  poor  the  Grospel 
is  preached."  And  ministers  must  be  as  solicitous  for 
the  salvation  of  the  poor  as  of  the  rich. 

The  dove  or  pigeon  was  to  be  a  male  ;  for  the  Hebrew 
word   for  "  young   pigeons"  is  (^isi"!  ^53)  ''  sons   of  the 


82  THE  BURNT-OFFEEING. 

dove."  Thus  it  was  fitter  to  represent  Christ.  And,  of 
the  winged  tribes,  none  were  ever  taken  for  sacrifice,  ex- 
cept the  dove  and  the  turtle-dove.  These  abounded  in 
the  Holy  Land,  so  that  the  poorest  could  get  them 
easily.*  They  were  fitted,  also,  to  be  emblems  of  Jesus, 
just  as  was  the  lamb.  He  is  undefiled  and  holy,  full  of 
love  and  tenderness  ;  therefore  the  dove  is  his  type.  And 
as  the  dove  at  the  Deluge  brought  the  message  of  peace, 
and  as  the  turtle-dove  is  the  known  emblem  of  peace,  be- 
cause its  voice  is  heard  from  the  olive-tree  (itself  the 
type  of  peace),  in  quiet,  calm  security,  so,  on  this  ground 
more  especially,  they  are  the  better  types  of  Jesus.  The 
previous  suffering  of  the  offered  dove,  or  turtle,  repre- 
sents Christ  suffering  ere  he  enters  into  peace,  and  be- 
comes the  peace-maker.  Taken  from  his  Father's  bosom, 
he  comes  to  suffer.  The  dove,  "  by  the  rivers  of  water" 
(Song  V.  12),  in  peace  and  joy,  is  caught,  and  wrung  to 
death  on  the  altar.  The  olive-groves  must  be  searched, 
and  the  turtle-dove  taken  from  its  own  happy,  peaceful 
olive-tree.  It  is  then  violently  brought  to  the  altar,  and 
left  lifeless  there  !  Thus  it  was  with  Jesus.  But  from 
this  suffering  and  death  of  the  Peaceful  One  results 
'''-peace  on  earth.''''  "  He  is  our  peace.''''  (Eph.  ii.  14.) 
He  breathes  out  on  us  nothing  less  than  his  own  peace 
— "  Mtj  peace  I  give  unto  youP  (John  xiv.  27.)  And 
soon,  too,  as  the  grand  and  wide  result  of  all,  "  the 
voice  of  the  turtle  (the  herald  of  spring  and  of  storms 

*  In  the  course  of  my  ordinary  visits  in  the  country,  I  one  day  sat  down 
to  converse  with  a  poor  illiterate  believer,  at  whose  board  a  beautiful  tame 
pigeon  used  to  feed.  I  opened  the  Bible  at  this  passage,  and  showed  this 
type  of  a  suffering  Saviour.  It  seemed  to  be  specially  blessed — she  long 
remembered  this  type  of  Jesus :  and  in  this  simple  incident,  there  seemed 
to  me  discernible  something  of  the  wisdom  and  goodness  that  so  provided 
for  the  poor  of  Israel, 


CHAPTER  I.  33 

past)  shall  be  heard  in  our  land"  (Song  ii.  12) ;  and,  the 
deluge  of  fire  being  passed,  this  dove  shall  bring  its  olive- 
branch  to  announce  to  the  new  earth  that  wrath  is  for- 
ever turned  away.  Christ,  who  died  to  make  peace, 
shall  reign  in  peace,  over  a  peaceful  earth,  which  his 
own  blood  has  made  the  dwelling  of  righteousness. 

He  of  whom  these  things  are  spoken,  when  on  earth 
showed,  from  such  Scriptures  as  these,  that  he  needed  to 
suffer  unto  death.  "  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it  be- 
hooved Christ  to  suffer"  (Luke  xxiv.  46),  said  Jesus,  while 
showing  the  things  written  in  the  law  of  Moses  concern- 
ins:  himself. 

Yer.  15.  "  And  the  priest  shall  bring  it  unto  the  altar,  and  wi'ing  off  its 
head,  and  burn  it  on  the  altar ;  and  the  blood  thereof  shall  be 
wrung  out  at  the  side  of  the  altar." 

The  method  of  putting  the  dove  to  death  must  be 
regulated  by  the  nature  of  the  victim ;  hence,  here  it  is 
by  ^^  ivringing  off  its  heacV  But  this  arrangement  is 
the  better  fitted  to  exhibit  another  feature  in  the  death 
of  Jesus,  viz.,  the  awful  violence  done  to  one  so  pure, 
so  tender,  and  so  lovely.  "We  shrink  back  from  the 
terrible  harshness  of  the  act,  whether  it  be  plunging  the 
knife  into  the  neck  of  the  innocent  lamb,  or  wringing 
off  the  head  of  the  tender  dove.  But,  on  this  very  ac- 
count, the  circumstances  are  the  better  figure  of  the 
death  of  Jesus.  "He  had  done  no  violence,  neither 
was  any  deceit  in  his  mouth ;  yet  it  pleased  the  Lord 
to  bruise  him." 

After  this,  '•Hhe  blood  was  to  be  wrung  out"  (t^?^?, 
squeezed  or  pressed  out)  over  the  side  of  the  altar,  till  it 
ran  in  a  crimson  stream  down  the  altar's  side,  in  view  of 
all.     Then  it  collects  at  the  foot  of  the  altar ;  and  there 

2* 


34  THE  BUENT-OFFERING. 

is  a  cry,  like  the  souls  under  the  altar  in  Revel,  vi.  9, 
against  the  cause  of  this  hloodshedding ^  viz.,  sin.  A 
testimony  against  it  sounds  up  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord 
of  Sabaoth.  But  his  blood  speaketh  better  things  than 
the  blood  of  Abel,  or  the  cry  of  the  martyred  ones  ;  for 
the  response  to  this  cry  of  blood  is  not  vengeance,  but 
pardon  to  man. 

It  was  the  priest  who  performed  this  apparently  harsh 
and  cruel  act,  for  the  Father  bruised  Jesus,  and  the  priest 
acts  in  his  name. 

Ver.  16.  "And  he  shall  pluck  away  hia  crop  with  his  feathers,  and 
cast  it  beside  the  altar,  on  the  east  part,  by  the  place  of  the  ashes." 

The  crop.,  containing  the  food,  seems  to  be  considered 
unclean,  because  an  emblem  of  man's  appetites.  Now, 
as  there  was  nothing  of  man's  sinful  appetites  in  the 
Holy  One,  there  must  be  nothing  even  in  the  type,  that 
might  lead  us  to  suppose  that  he  was  otherwise  than 
perfectly  holy.  Hence  ^Hhe  crop'''  is  removed.  "  The 
feathers^''  also,  are  removed,  because  they  are  a  cover- 
ing to  the  dove ;  and  it  must  be  left  quite  unsheltered 
when  the  drops  of  the  storm  fall  thick  and  heavy  upon 
it.  These  are  to  be  cast  "  to  the  place  of  ashes ^^"^  out  of 
sight  of  Grod ;  and  thus  the  dove  is  offered,  in  a  state  of 
purity  and  of  unprotectedness,  on  the  altar. 

Ver.  17.  "  And  he  shall  cleave  it  with  the  wings  thereof,  but  shall 
not  divide  it  asunder :  and  the  priest  shall  burn  it  upon  the  altar, 
upon  the  wood  that  is  upon  the  fire :  it  is  a  burnt-sacrifice,  an 
offering  made  by  fire,  of  a  sweet  savor  unto  the  Lord." 

"  The  cleaving"  (s's^)  implies  such  a  separation  as  is 
not  complete.  It  is  only  dislocation.,  but  not  disruption 
of  the  parts,  as  is  also  explained  in  the  clause, '''"  hut  shall 
not  divide  it  asunder P     In  this  we  see  another  typical 


CHAPTER  I.  35 

circustmance.  It  is  like  that  in  the  case  of  the  paschal- 
lamb — ''  A  bone  of  him  shall  not  be  broken."  At 
the  same  time,  this  type  gives  us,  in  addition,  a  refer- 
ence to  the  Saviour's  racked  frame  on  the  cross,  when 
he  said,  ''  All  my  hones  are  out  of  joint."  (Ps.  xxii.  14.) 
All  this  seems  intended  to  declare  that  Jesus,  in  his 
death,  was  lohole^  though  broken^ — '•^  sin  for  us^^^  but 
"  no  sin  in  him.^^ 

"  With  the  wings  thereof, ^^  to  show  nothing  left  what- 
soever that  could  be  means  of  escape — total  weakness, 
Jesus  said,  as  he  suffered,  "I  am  poured  out  like  water." 
(Ps.  xxii.  14.) 

And  this  sacrifice  is  ''of  a  sweet  savor  to  the 
Lord."  It  satisfies  the  Father  well — so  much  so,  that 
we  find  his  redeemed  ones  called  by  the  name  that  refers 
us  back  to  the  sacrifice.  For  example — the  Church  is 
called  ^^ the  dove,^^  Song  ii.  14.  So — "Deliver  not  the 
soul  of  thy  turtle-dove  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy." 
(Ps.  Ixxiv.  19.)  Just  as  both  Christ  and  his  Church 
are  called  "  the  lily,^^  in  Song  ii.  1,  2 ;  and  both  his 
voice  and  theirs  is  "  like  the  voice  of  many  waters"  in  the 
book  of  Revelation.  (Comp.  Revel,  i.  15 ;  xiv.  2  ;  xix. 
6.)  If  the  Church  says,  "  Behold,  thou  art  fair,  my  be- 
loved C'lii),  yea,  pleasant'  (Song  i.  16,)  it  is  in  response 
to  Christ,  who  had  said,  "  Behold,  thou  art  fair,  my  love 
(^nvsn) ;  behold,  thou  art  fair."  So  truly  one  is  Christ 
and  his  people,  they  are  in  a  manner  identified  !  "  Lord, 
thou  art  my  righteousness,  and  I  am  thy  sin ;  thou 
hast  taken  from  me  what  was  mine,  and  given  me 
what  was  thine."  "  '-^  t^?  y^uKeta?  diraUaj'^?,  w  t^?  ive^i'/^ 
viaarov  dTj/niovgyiag^  (b  i(bv  dngoadox'^TCJv  eisgyecnwvV^    (Epist. 

ad  Diognet.  9.)     "  Oh,  sweet  exchange!      Oh,  unsearch- 
able device  !      Oh,  benefits  beyond  all  expectation  I" 


S^  THE  BURNT-OFFERING. 

And  now,  looking  back  on  this  chapter,  let  us  briefly 
notice  that  the  rudimental  sketch  of  these  offerings  and 
the  mode  of  their  presentation,  will  be  found  at  the  gate 
of  Eden.  Some  have  sought  for  their  origin^  in  Egyp- 
tian ceremonies,  at  one  time  imitated,  at  another  pur- 
posely opposed.      But  this  is  altogether  erroneous. 

Davison,  on  "  The  Origin  and  Intention  of  Primitive 
Sacrifice,"  refuses  to  admit  that  sacrifice  in  the  patri- 
archal time  was  identical  in  meaning  with  sacrifice  in 
the  Mosaic  dispensation — admitting  that,  if  that  identity 
could  be  made  out,  the  Divine  origin  of  sacrifice  would 
be  proved.  Now,  is  there  one  text  in  all  the  Bible  to 
show  that  sacrifice  (which  Davison  gladly  admits  had 
in  it  the  atoning  principle  in  the  institutions  of  Moses) 
ever  has  more  than  one  meaning  ?  As  well  might  we  ask 
evidence  to  prove  that  "  to  call  on  the  name  of  the 
JjorcV  in  the  days  of  Enos  was  quite  a  different  act 
from  "  calling  on  the  name  of  the  Lord)''  in  the  days  of 
the  Psalmist ;  or  that  '-^righteousness'^  in  Abraham's  day 
(G-en.  XV.  6)  was  different  from  "  righteousness'^  in  Paul's 
days.  (Rom.  iv.  3.)  Just  as  we  believe  the  Hiddekel 
and  Euphrates  of  Genesis  ii.  are  the  same  as  the  Hid- 
dekel and  Euphrates  of  later  history  ;  and  the  Cherubim 
of  G-enesis  iii.  the  same  as  those  in  the  tabernacle;  and 
the  ^^siveet  savor''''  of  G-enesis  viii.  21,  the  same  as  that 
in  Leviticus  i.  9,  and  Ephesians  v.  2  ;  so  do  we  regard 
the  intention  of  sacrifice  as  always  the  same  throughout 
Scripture.  There  would  therefore  be  need,  not  of  proof 
to  establish  this  principle,  but  of  argument  to  refute  it. 
Ours  is  the  obvious  and  common-sense  principle.  All 
these  ordinances  were  parts  of  the  one  telescope,  through 
which  men  saw  the  Star  of  Bethlehem  from  afar.     In 

*  Vide  Spencer,  <fcc. 


CHAPTER  I.  87 

Mosaic  rites,  the  telescope  was  drawn  out  farther  than 
at  Eden,  and  the  focus  at  which  the  grand  object  could 
be  best  seen  was  more  nearly  found.  But  the  gate  of 
Eden  presents  us  with  the  same  truths  in  a  more  rudi- 
mental  form. 

Some  have  traced  the  outlines  of  the  Mosaic  ritual  at 
the  gate  of  Eden  in  the  following  manner : — Within  the 
gate  stood  the  cherubim^  occupying  the  hallowed  spot 
where  the  Tree  of  Life  waved  its  branches.  This  re- 
sembled the  Holy  of  holies^  and  the  veil  that  prevented 
the  approach  of  any  one  from  without  was  the  flaming 
sivoirl,  flashing  its  sheet  of  fire  on  every  side.  But  oppo- 
site to  this  sword,  at  some  distance  we  see  an  altar, 
where  our  first  parents  shed  the  blood  of  sacrifice — show- 
ing in  type  how  the  barred-up  way  of  access  to  the  Tree 
of  Life  was  to  be  opened  by  the  blood  of  the  woman's 
bruised  seed.  On  this  altar,  bloody  and  unbloody  offer- 
ings were  appointed  to  be  presented  in  their  season.  And 
when  we  find  clean  and  unclean  noticed  (Gen.  viii.  20), 
and  in  Abraham's  case  (Gren.  xv.  9,  10),  the  heifer  and 
goat,  the  turtle  and  the  pigeon,  and  also  "  command- 
ments, statutes,  and  laws"  (parallel  to  ch.  xxvi.  46),  we 
cannot  but  believe  that  these  fuller  institutions  in  Le- 
viticus are  just  the  expansion  of  what  Adam  first  received. 
The  Levitical  dispensation  is  the  acorn  of  Eden  grown 
to  a  full  oak.  If  so,  then  may  we  say,  that  the  child  Jesus, 
wrapped  in  his  swaddling-clothes,  was,  in  these  cere- 
monies, laid  down  at  the  gate  of  Eden ! 


€^t  3fHtat-(Dfftring. 


"  I  BESEECH   YOU   XHEEEFORE,  BEETHFwEX,  BY  THE  MERCIES  OF  GOD,   THAT  YE 
PRESENT   YOUR   BODIES   A   LIVING    SACRIFICE,  HOLY,  ACCEPTABLE   UNTO   GOD." — 

Rom.  xii.  1. 

"  THE   THINGS  WHICH  "WERE   SENT   FROM   YOU,  AN   ODOR   OF    A  S"WEET  SMELL, 
A  SACRIFICE  ACCEPTABLE,  TVELL-PLEASING  TO  GOD." Philip,  iv.  18. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Yer.  1.  "  And  when  any  will  offer  a  meat-ofFering  unto  the  Lord,  his 
offering  shall  be  of  fine  flour :  and  he  shall  pour  oil  upon  it,  and  put 
frankincense  thereon." 

In  Daniel  ix.  27,  "  He  shall  cause  the  sacrifice  and 
oblation  to  cease,"  there  seems  to  be  reference  made  to 
the  two  great  divisions,  sacrifices  with,  and  sacrifices 
without  blood.  For  the  words  are  more  exactly,  "  He 
shall  cause  sacrifice  and  meat-offering-  (f^^^^a)  to  cease." 
So  also  in  1  Samuel  iii.  14,  and  Psalm  xl.  6.  We  have 
now  come  to  this  second  clas§  of  offerings. 

The  meat-offering  (so  called  by  our  translators  be- 
cause the  greater  part  of  it  was  used  for  food)  represents 
the  oflerer's  person  and  property,  his  body  and  his  posses- 
sions.^    "When  he  had  by  the   burnt-offering   obtained 

*  Ainsworth  gives  in  substance  the  same  meaning  of  the  type  when  he 
says  that  it  signified  "  the  sanctification  of  persons  and  actions,  and  the 
acceptation  of  them."  Patrick  is  evidently  far  wrong  when  he  speaks  of 
these  meat-offerings  as  a  merciful  provision  for  those  who  could  not  afford 
to  offer  animal  sacrifices. 


CHAPTER  II.  89 

full  acceptance  for  his  soul,  he  comes  next  to  give  up  his 
whole  substance  to  the  Lord  who  has  redeemed  him. 
The  mercies  of  Grod  constrain  him  to  give  up  all  he  has 
to  the  Lord.  The  meat-offering  was  generally,  or  rather 
always,  presented  along  with  some  animal  sacrifice,  in 
order  to  show  the  connection  between  pardon  of  sin  and 
devotion  to  the  Lord.  The  moment  we  are  pardoned, 
all  we  are,  and  all  we  have,  becomes  the  property  of 
Christ.  "  Ye  are  not  your  own,  for  ye  are  bought  with 
a  price."  (1  Cor.  vi.  19.)  Our  Redeemer  and  kinsman 
buys  first  Ruth,  the  Moabitess,  herself,  and  next,  he 
claims  also  the  field  and  inheritance.  Joseph  who  saves 
our  life,  buys  up  our  bodies  and  our  substance. 

A  type  that  was  to  represent  this  dedication  of  body 
and  'property  behooved  to  be  one  that  had  no  hlood  there- 
in ;  for  blood  is  the  life  or  soul^  which  has  been  already 
offered. 

This  distinction  may  have  existed  as  early  as  the 
days  of  Adam.  When  G-od  instituted  animal  sacrifice  to 
represent  the  atonement  by  death,  he  probably  also  in- 
stituted this  other  sort ;  the  fact  of  this  latter  existing, 
and  its  meaning  and  use  being  definitely  understood, 
would  tend  to  confirm  the  exclusive  use  of  animal  sacri- 
fice when  atonement  was  to  be  shown  forth.  Cain's  offer- 
ing oi  first-fruits  might  have  been  acceptable  as  a  meat- 
offering, if  it  had  been  founded  upon  the  slain  lamb,  and 
had  followed  as  a  consequence  from  that  sacrifice.^  But 
the  statement  in  Heb.  xi.  4,  lets  us  know  that  Cain  had 

*  In  this  view  Ambrose,  de  Incarnat,  Dom,  Sacram.  c.  i.,  is  not  wrong : 
— "  Nihil  invenio  quod  in  specie  munerura  reprehendam,  nisi  quod  et  Cain 
munera  sua  displicuisse  cognovit,  et  Dominus  dixit,  Si  recte  offeras,  recte 
autem  non  dividas,  peccasti.  Ubi  igitur  est  crimen  ?  Ubi  culpa  ?  Non 
in  oblatione  muneris  sed  in  oblationis  affectu." 


40  THE  MEAT-OFFERINa. 

not  faith  in  the  seed  of  the  woman  5  therefore  his  offer- 
ing was  hateful  to  God.  Cain's  attempt  was  virtually 
this — to  present  himself  and  his  property  to  God,  as  if 
they  had  been  under  no  curse  that  needed  blood  first  of 
all  to  wash  them.  He  sought  to  be  accepted  by  his  holi- 
ness^ and  so  overthrow  salvation  by  Christ.  Acts  of 
charity,  substituted  for  Christ's  work,  as  a  means  of 
pacifying  the  conscience,  make  up  precisely  this  sin  of 
Cain.  Nor  are  they  less  mistaken  who  think  by  self- 
denial,  and  by  doing  good  to  others  in  their  life  and 
conduct,  to  obtain  favor  and  be  accepted  with  God.  This 
is  offering  the  meat-offering  ere  the  man  has  been 
cleansed  by  the  burnt-offering.  It  is  putting  sanctifica- 
Hon  before  justification.^  And  there  is  a  tendency  to 
this  error  in  those  books  which  recommend  anxious  souls, 
that  are  not  yet  come  to  Christ,  to  draw  up  a  form  of  self- 
dedication,  and  solemnly  give  themselves  to  the  Lord. 
These  councillors  are  in  danger  of  leading  souls  past  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb.,  and  of  putting  the  meat-offering  too 
hastily  into  their  hands. 

This  meat-offering  was  presented  daily,  along  with  the 
morning  and  evening  sacrifice,  teaching  us  to  give  all  we 
have  to  the  Lord's  use,  not  by  irregular  impulse  on  par- 
ticular exigencies,  but  daily. 

*  An  instance  of  such  like  self-righteousness  we  find  among  the  early- 
fathers.  Ephraim  Synos  seems  never  to  have  found  the  blood-sprinkled 
way,  but  to  have  travelled  onward  to  eternity  over  a  road  strewn  with  the 
palm-branches  of  good  feelings  and  deeds  of  self-denial,  and  watered  with 
tears  at  every  step.  His  wretched  scheme  of  peace  may  be  gathered  from 
such  congratulations  as  these  : — "  Wmapi^bi  vjiSs,  oi  yvnaioi,  6Vt  hpOri  noXiTEia 
^i\ovi  kavTovi  tiroirjaaTS  rw  0£cj."  (Aoyof  A.)  He  counts  those  friends  of  his 
happy  because  he  thinks  "  they  have  made  themselves  acceptable  to  God 
by  their  manner  of  life."  The  same  remark  applies  to  the  writings  of 
Thomas-a-Kempis. 


CHAPTER  II.  41 

In  Isaiah  Ixvi.  20,  the  words,  "  They  shall  bring  all 
your  brethren  an  offering  {^T^\^)  to  the  Lord,"  are  very- 
appropriate  when  we  keep  in  mind  that  this  is  the  typi- 
cal meaning  of  the  meat-offering — these  persons  are  the 
meat-offering.  Perhaps,  also,  in  1  Samuel  xxvi.  19,  "  If 
the  Lord  have  stirred  thee  up  against  me,  let  him  accept 
a  meat-offering^''  (f^n?'^) ;  there  may  be  reference  to  this 
species  of  offering,  representing  the  person  and  all  he 
possessed.  At  the  same  time,  the  word  (nns^),  when  not 
contrasted  or  conjoined  with  the  sacrifice,  is  often  used 
as  a  generic  term  for  any  offering.^ 

But  we  have  still  to  call  attention  to  the  chief  applica- 
tion of  this  type.  It  shows  forth  Christ  himself.  And 
indeed  this  should  have  been  noticed  first  of  all,  had  it 
not  been  for  the  sake  of  first  establishing  the  precise 
point  of  view  in  which  this  type  sets  forth  its  object.  AYe 
are  to  consider  it  as  representing  Christ  himself  in  all  his 
ivork  of  obedience,  soul  and  body.  He  is  the  "  fine 
wheat,"  pure,  unspotted  ;  yet  also  "  baked,"  &c.  because 
subjected  to  every  various  suffering.  The  burnt-offering 
being  presented  and  consumed,  Christ's  glorious  obedience 
in  his  human  nature,  and  all  that  belonged  to  him,  was 
accepted,  as  well  as  his  sacrifice.  For  he  and  all  that 
is  his  was  ever  set  apart  for,  and  accepted  by  the  Father. 
"  Lord,  truly  I  am  thy  servant."  (Ps.  cxvi.  16.)  And 
if  it  represents  Christ,  it  includes  his  Church.  Christ 
and  his  body,  the  Church,  are  presented  to  the  Father, 
and  accepted.     Christ,  and  all  his  possessions  in  heaven 

*  And  so  the  Septuagint  sometimes  renders  it  by  Qvaia,  and  sometimes 

by  TTpo(T<f)opa.     In  Ezek.  xlv.  15,  -where  it  occurs,  the  meaning  would  have 

been  brought  out  more  exactly  by  rendering  the  clause  thus : — "  One  lamb 

.  out  of  the  flock,  from  the  pastures  of  Israel,  for  aw  offering  (a  Mincha,  as 

in  Gen.  iv.  4),  even  for  burnt-offerings  and  for  peace-offering  sP 


42  THE  MEAT-OFFEEING. 

and  earth,  whether  possessions  of  dominion  or  possessions 
in  the  souls  of  men  and  angels,  were  all  presented  to, 
and  accepted  by  the  Father.  And  Christ  delights  thus  to 
honor  the  Father.  He  will  delight  to  deliver  up  even  the 
kingdom  to  the  Father.  (1  Cor.  xv.  24.)  What  an  example 
for  each  of  his  people  !  Let  us  behold  our  pattern,  and 
give  up  ourselves,  body  and  soul  and  substance,  to  the 
glory  of  our  G-od. 

Let  us  now  examine  the  chapter  in  detail. 

The  meat-offering  must  be  of  fine  flour^ — the  fine 
wheat  of  Palestine,  not  the  coarser  naj?,  "  meal^''  but  the 
fine  ^^b,  bolted  and  sifted  well.  It  must  in  all  cases  be 
not  less  than  the  tenth  of  an  ephah  (v.  11) ;  in  most 
cases  far  more.  (See  Num.  vii.  13.)  It  was  taken  from 
the  best  of  their  fields,  and  cleansed  from  the  bran  by 
passing  through  the  sieve.  The  rich  seem  to  have  offer- 
ed it  in  the  shape  of  pure  fine  flour,  white  as  snow,  heap- 
ing it  up  probably,  as  in  Numb.  vii.  13,  on  a  silver  char- 
ger, or  in  a  silver  bowl,  in  princely  manner.  It  thus 
formed  a  type,  beautiful  and  pleasant  to  the  eye,  of  the 
man's  self  and  substance  dedicated  to  Grod,  when  now 
made  pure  by  the  blood  of  sacrifice  that  had  removed  his 
sin.  For  if  forgiven,  then  a  blessing  rested  upon  his 
basket  and  his  store,  on  the  fruit  of  his  body,  and  the 
fruit  of  his  ground,  the  fruit  of  his  cattle,  and  the  in- 
crease of  his  kine.  (See  Deut.  xxviii.  3-6.)  Even  as 
Jesus,  when  raised  from  the  tomb,  was  henceforth  no 
more  under  the  curse  of  sin ;  but  was  blessed  in  body, 
for  his  body  was  no  longer  weary  or  feeble ;  and  blessed 
in  company,  for  no  longer  was  he  numbered  among  trans- 
gressors; and  blessed  in  all  his  inheritance,  for  "all 
power  was  given  him  in  heaven  and  in  earth." 

The  oil  poured  on  the  fine  flour  denoted  setting  apart. 


CHAPTER  II.  43 

It  was  oil  that  was  used  by  Jacob  at  Bethel  in  setting 
apart  his  stone  pillow  to  commemorate  his  vision ;  and 
every  priest  and  king  was  thus  set  apart  for  his  office. 
Oil,  used  on  these  occasions,  is  elsewhere  appropriated  to 
mean  the  Spirifs  operation — ^the  Spirit  setting  apart 
whom  he  pleases  for  any  office. 

The  frankincense^  fragrant  in  its  smell,  denoted  the 
acceptableness  of  the  offering.  As  a  flower  or  plant — 
the  rose  of  Sharon  or  the  balm  of  G-ilead — would  induce 
any  passing  traveller  to  stoop  down  over  them,  and  regale 
himself  with  their  fragrance,  so  the  testimony  borne  by 
Christ's  work  to  the  character  of  Grodhead  brings  the 
Father  to  bend  over  any  to  whom  it  is  imparted,  and  to 
rest  over  him  in  his  love.  The  Lord  Jesus  says  to  his 
Church,  in  Song  iv.  6,  "  Until  the  day  break,  and  the 
shadows  flee  away,  I  will  get  me  to  the  mountain  of 
myrrh,  and  the  hill  of  frankincense."  This  spot  must 
be  the  Father's  right  hand.  In  like  manner,  then,  it 
ought  to  be  the  holy  purpose  of  believing  souls  who  are 
looking  for  Christ,  to  dwell  so  entirely  amid  the  Re- 
deemer's merits,  that,  like  the  maidens  of  King  Ahasue- 
rus  (Esther  ii.  12),  they  shall  be  fragrant  with  the 
sweet  odors,  and  with  these  alone,  when  the  bridegroom 
comes. 

"When  Christ  presented  his  human  person  and  all  he 
had,  he  was,  indeed,  fragrant  to  the  Father,  and  the  oil 
of  the  Spirit  was  on  him  above  his  fellows.  (See  Isaiah 
Ixi.  1 ;  and  Psalm  xlv.  7 ;  and  Heb.  ix.  14.) 

And  equally  complete  in  him  is  every  believer  also. 
Like  Jesus,  each  believer  is  God's  wheat — his  fine  flour. 
He  is  clothed  in  the  fine  linen,  white  and  clean,  and 
stands  by  Christ's  side,  in  the  likeness  of  Christ.  Even 
now  is  he  able  to  say,  "As  He  is  (at  the  Father's  right 


44  THE  MEAT-OFFERING. 

hand),  so  are  we  in  this  world" — as  completely  righteous, 
as  really  accepted.     (1  John  iv.  17.) 

Ver.  2.  "  And  he  ehall  bring  it  to  Aaron's  sons,  the  priests ;  and  he 
shall  take  thereout  his  handful  of  the  flour  thereof  and  of  the  oil 
thereof,  with  all  the  frankincense  thereof ;  and  the  priest  shall  burn 
the  memorial  of  it  upon  the  altar  to  be  an  offering  made  by  fire  of 
a  sweet  savor  unto  the  Lord." 

One  of  Aaron's  sons  was  to  take  a  handful  out  of  what 
was  brought,  a  handful  of  flour,  and  a  proportional  quan- 
tity of  the  oil.  Along  with  this  he  was  to  take  "  all  the 
frankincense^''''  because  all  was  needed  to  express  the 
complete  acceptance.  This  is  "  the  memorial  of  the 
meat-offering'^^ — a  part  for  the  whole.  In  dedication  of 
our  body  and  property,  we  need  not  go  through  every 
article  in  detail,  but  we  take  some  part  as  a  specimen, 
and  an  earnest  of  all  the  rest. 

In  Acts  X.  4,  Cornelius'  "prayers  and  alms"  are  called 
*'  a  memorial."  These  alms  and  prayers  were  a  speci- 
men of  the  whole  man's  dedication.  He  was  a  believer, 
like  old  Simeon,  already  accepted,  and  this  meat-offering 
of  his,  the  dedication  of  self  and  substance,  expressed  by 
prayers  and  alms,  was  acknowledged  on  the  part  of  God 
by  the  gift  of  more  light  and  liberty. 

Ver.  3.  "  And  the  remnant  of  the  meat  offering  shall  be  Aaron's  and 
his  sons' ;  it  is  a  thing  most  holy  of  the  offerings  of  the  Lord  made 
by  fire." 

*  Isa.  Ixvi.  3,  refers  first  to  the  hurnt-offcring,  speaking  of  slaying  the 
lamb  and  the  ox  ;  and  then  in  the  next  clause,  to  the  meat-offering,  speak- 
ing of  him  that  "offers  a  nn373  and  ynaketh  a  frmikincense  memoriar 
nshb  "1*^31^.  Milton  has,  without  authority,  blended  these  two  together 
in  his  description  of  Abel's  offering,  Par.  Lost,  xi. 

"  *         *         *         *         a  shepherd  next. 
More  meek,  came  with  the  firstlings  of  his  flock 
Choicest  and  best ;  then,  sacrificing  laid 
The  inwards  and  the  fat,  with  incense  strewed, 
On  the  cleft  wood." 


CHAPTER  II.  45. 

The  offering  is  declared  "  3Iost  holy.''''  And  to  show 
that  the  mass  was  so,  as  well  as  the  handful^  the  remnant 
is  given  to  Aaron's  sons  to  feast  upon.  Even  Aaron,  who 
bore  on  his  mitre  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord,"  could  safely 
eat  of  it. 

In  this  manner  we  are  assured  of  the  true  and  thorough 
acceptance  of  our  dedicated  things,  when  once  we  are 
forgiven.  How  complete  is  the  assurance  we  have  of 
the  acceptance  of  Christ  and  all  that  are  his !  Nay,  even^^ 
of  their  substance.  There  is  a  blessing  "  on  their  basket 
and  on  their  store."  So  completely  is  its  curse  removed, 
that  under  the  tree  in  the  plains  of  Mamre,  angels,  and  the 
Lord  of  Angels,  eat  of  Abraham's  bread  and  his  fatted  calf. 

But  the  declaration,  "It  is  a  thing  most  holy,"  teaches 
us  how  we  should  regard  every  member  of  our  body  as 
belonging  to  G-od;  and  every  thing  we  possess.  "Ye 
are  not  your  own.'''*  ^^It  is  most  holy.''''  How  little  do 
we  feel  it  to  be  so. 

Ver.  4.  "  And  if  thou  bring  an  oblation  of  a  meat-offering  baken  in 
the  oven,  it  shall  be  unleavened  cakes  of  fine  flour,  mingled  with 
oil,  or  unleavened  wafers  anointed  with  oil." 

A  part  of  the  type  of  the  fine  flour ^  already  noticed, 
may  be  that  Christ  was  ground  by  sore  agony,  and 
endured  unutterable  anguish  when  bruised  for  us.  And 
so,  the  ivine  of  the  drink-offerings  afterwards  noticed, 
would  imply  a  reference  to  the  wine-press,  out  of  which 
he  came.  And  in  like  manner,  the  oven  here  mentioned, 
and  the  other  articles  exposed  to  the  fire,  would  contain 
a  reference  to  his  enduring  the  fierce  flame  of  wrath. ^ 

*  "Willet  quotes  Pellicanus,  who  applies  these  varieties  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  meat-offering  to  the  manifold  natm-e  of  afflictions :  "  Nunc  Cli- 
banus,  nunc  Patilla,  nunc  Craticula  dici  possunt :"  a  true  remark,  whether 
contained  here  or  not. 


46  THE  MEAT-OFFERING. 

But  admitting  this  use  of  the  emblems  to  be  doubtful, 
we  find  a  certain  and  obvious  meaning  in  the  diversities 
of  form  in  which  the  meat-offering  appears.  As  in 
chap.  i.  we  saw  that  Grod,  for  the  sake  of  the  less  wealthy, 
took  a  lamb  or  a  dove,  when  a  more  costly  sacrifice 
would  have  been  beyond  the  reach  of  the  offerer ;  so  it 
is  here :  for  the  sake  of  the  different  ranks  in  society, 
the  meat-offering  has  a  form  in  which  any  one  may  be 
able  to  present  it.  If  he  is  rich,  let  him  bring  his  fine 
flour  from  the  finest  of  the  wheat.  If  he  is  not  able  to 
do  this,  let  him  bring  "  a  meat-offering  baken  in  the 
oven.''^  If  he  cannot  afford  this,  having  no  oven,  then  let 
him  bring  somewhat  "  baken  in  the  fire-plate^''''  or  pan. 
If  even  this  is  not  in  his  power,  he  will  at  least  possess  a 
frying-pan^  and  let  him  bring  what  it  prepares.  God 
excuses  none,  of  whatever  rank,  from  dedicating  them- 
selves and  their  substance  to  him.  The  widow  has  two 
mites  to  cast  into  the  Lord's  treasury.  In  1  Chron.  xxiii. 
29,  this  gradation  seems  referred  to  when  it  is  said,  "  For 
that  which  is  baken  in  the  pan,  and  for  that  which  is 
fried,  and  for  all  manner  of  measure  and  size." 

The  oven  was  a  utensil  which  was  generally  possessed 
by  all  the  middle  ranks  of  life.  If  they  have  this,  let 
them  prepare  in  it  "  cakes"  (ni^n),  of  a  larger  size,  and 
"  wafers"  (n^p'ip^),.  cakes  of  a  smaller  size,  and  bring 
these  as  their  meat-offering.  The  larger  cakes  must 
have  "  oil  mingled  through  them  ;  the  smaller,  and  thin- 
ner, must  have  oil  on  them.  In  both  cases  the  oil  that 
sets  apart  must  not  be  wanting.  Nay,  where  it  is  possi- 
ble, it  must  form  part,  as  it  were,  of  the  substance,  by 
being  mingled  with  it. 

And  there  must  be  no  leaven;  for  leaven  indicates 
corruption  at  work.     If  we  give  grudgingly,  with  rest- 


CHAPTER  II.  47 

less,  impatient,  tumultuous,  anxious  feelings,  we  are 
offering  with  leaven.  We  must  dedicate  self  and  sub- 
stance in  Christ's  spirit :  "  iVb^  my  will^  but  thine  be 
done." 

Ver.  6.     "  And  if  thy  oblation  be  a  meat-offering,  baken  in  a  pan,  it 
shall  be  of  fine  flour,  unleavened,  mingled  with  oil." 

This  is  another  form  in  which  it  may  be  presented,  if 
the  man  be  yet  poorer  than  the  last  mentioned ;  if  he 
use  the  ^^ fire-plate^''''  in  his  house,  and  not  ^Hhe  oven^ 
The  only  article  of  furniture  absolutely  necessary  for  pre- 
paring food  seems  to  have  been  the  "  frying-pan"  of  ver. 
7.  Anything  more  than  that  indicated  comfort  and  ease. 
The  "  cakes"  and  "  wafers"  of  last  verse  evidently  inti- 
mated a  moderate  degree  of  luxury.  And  this  man  also 
possessed  some  degree  of  independence  in  his  circum- 
stances. Perhaps  he  occupied  the  station  of  a  tradesman, 
if  not  somewhat  above  that.     He,  too,  must  dedicate  all 

to  the  Lord. 

I 

Ver.  6.    "  Thou  shalt  part  it  in  pieces,  and  pour  oil  thereon ;  it  is  a  meat- 
offering." 

This  division  into  pieces  may  show  that  every  part  of 
our  substance  is  to  be  given  up.  We  must  allow  Grod  to 
divide  and  choose  and  appropriate  as  he  pleases.  And 
then,  each  part  must  be  "  anointed  with  oil  f  set  apart 
by  the  priest's  hand.  Both  the  whole  as  a  whole,  and 
every  part  of  it,  must  be  given  up  to  the  Lord. 

Ver.  7.    "  And  if  thy  oblation  be  a  meat-ofl'ering,  baken  in  the  frying- 
pan,  it  shall  be  made  of  fine  flour  with  oil," 

The  shallow  frying-pan  (a  shallow  vessel  of  earth,  used 
to  this  day  by  the  Arabs,  and  called   Tageri)  indicated 


48.  ,  THE   MEAT-OFFEEING. 

poverty,  if  the  man  had  this  and  no  other  culinary  utensil. 
It  was  used  in  boiling,  and  therefore  was  indispensable. 
He,  too,  must  offer  what  he  has.  G-od  is  willing  to  have 
him  and  his  ;  he  does  not  despise  the  poor.  Nay,  by 
attending  to  different  classes  of  men,  he  finds  out  oppor- 
tunities of  some  new  exhibition  of  his  wisdom  and  grace. 
Here  the  opportunity  is  afforded  of  enforcing  the  lesson, 
that  whatever  is  wanting,  oil  must  not  be  wanting :  the 
Spirit  must  set  apart  whatever  is  really  dedicated. 

Ver,  8.  "  And  thou  shalt  bring  the  meat-offering  that  is  made  of  these 
things  unto  the  Lord,  and  when  it  is  presented  unto  the  priest  he 
shall  bring  it  unto  the  altar." 

A  poor  worshipper  might  be  apt  to  be  discouraged 
when  he  witnessed  the  more  costly  gifts  of  others  :  there- 
fore the  Lord  kindly  condescends  to  assure  his  heart  by 
specially  inserting  here  these  directions  to  the  priest,  viz., 
that  he  must  take  the  humblest  meat-offering  and  present 
it  on  the  altar.  The  priest  might  be  ready  to  neglect  so 
poor  an  offering;  but  here  he  is  warned,  "When  the 
offerer  presents  it,  the  priest  shall  bring  it."  Our  Master 
was  ever  more  tender-hearted  than  his  disciples.  The 
disciples  rebuked  those  who  brought  little  children  to 
him;  but  Jesus  said,  "  Suffer  thefti  to  come."  Jehovah, 
Grod  of  Israel,  is  Jesus,  the  Son  of  man ! 

Ver.  9.  "  And  the  priest  shall  take  from  the  meat-oflfering  a  memorial 
thereof,  and  shall  burn  it  upon  the  altar.  It  is  an  offering  made  by 
fire  of  a  sweet  savor  unto  the  Lord." 

The  memorial  is  what  was  directed  to  be  taken,  ver.  2. 
And  this  is  to  be  done  as  much  in  this  poorer  offering  as 
when  it  was  fine  flour.  There  is  no  virtue  in  the  size  or 
in  the  quality  of  the  thing. 


CHAPTER  II.  49 

The  "  sweet  savor^^  reminds  us  of  Paul's  words  to  the 
Philippians,  when  they  had,  though  poor,  given  him  what 
they  could  spare  of  their  substance  :  "I  have  received  of 
Epaphroditus  the  things  which  were  sent  from  you,  an 
odor  of  a  sweet  smell."  (Philip,  iv.  18.)  Jesus  in  heav- 
en smells  this  sweet  savor,  and  will  reward  it  at  the 
day  of  his  appearing. 

Ver,  10.  "  And  that  which  is  left  of  the  meat-offering  shall  be  Aaron's 
and  his  sons' ;  it  is  a  thing  most  holy  of  the  offerings  of  the  Lord 
made  by  fire." 

It  is  most  lioly  (see  ver.  3  again),  and  it  is  taken  from 
the  fire-offerings  of  the  Lord,  expressing  complete  appro- 
priation by  the  Lord  of  the  things  offered  to  him.  He 
takes  what  we  offer  ;  it  is  not  a  mere  compliment.  We 
may  not  say,  "  I  give  myself  to  the  Lord^''^  and  then  do 
as  we  please.  The  Lord  takes  us  at  our  word.  We  are 
no  more  our  own,  nor  is  our  body  ours,  nor  our  mem- 
bers, nor  our  money,  nor  our  health,  nor  our  talents,  nor 
our  reputation,  nor  our  affections,  nor  our  relations,  nor 
our  very  life  itself.  All  is  the  Lord's — in  his  treasury — 
''  among  the  offerings  made  by  fire,"  that  ascend  up  to 
heaven  in  the  smoke  of  the  altar. 

Then  follow  some  general  rules  in  regard  to  the  general 
subject  of  meat-offerings. 

Ver.  11.  "  No  meat-offering  which  ye  shall  bring  unto  the  Lord,  shall 
be  made  with  leaven :  for  ye  shall  burn  no  leaven,  nor  any  honey, 
in  any  offering  of  the  Lord  made  by  fire." 

Leaven  indicates  corruption^  and  is  the  very  opposite 
of  salt,  which  preserves  (v.  13),  and  which  must  never 
be  wanting.  Honey  includes  all  that  is  sweet,  like  the 
honey  of  grapes,  figs,  and  the  reed  or  calamus,  that  grew 

3 


50  THE   MEAT-OFFEEINa. 

on  the  banks  of  the  waters  of  Merom,^  and  it  is  forbidden 
both  because  it  turns  to  sourness,  and  leads  to  fermenta- 
tion, and  perhaps  also  because  it  is  a  luxury,  and  the 
Lord  desires  nothing  of  earthly  sweetness.  His  offerings 
must  have  neither  corruption  nor  carnal  sweetness.  We 
must,  like  Christ,  be  the  Lord's ;  holy  and  separate  from 
the  world,  not  pleasing  ourselves.  In  chapter  xxiii.  17, 
there  is  a  special  lesson  taught  by  the  presence  of  leaven 
in  the  two  loaves  of  the  first-fruits  ;  it  is  altogether  un- 
like this  case. 

Ver.  12.  "As  for  the  oblation  of  the  first-fruits,  ye  shall  offer  them 
unto  the  Lord :  but  they  shall  not  be  burnt  on  the  altar  for  a  sweet 
savor." 

The  first  ripe  fruits  of  any  sort  are  meant.  These, 
when  offered,  were  typical  of  presenting  the  person's  self 
and  substance,  and  hence  are  included  in  the  subject  of 
meat-offering.  But  they  are  not  to  be  brought  to  the 
altar,  because  they  show  us  Christ  in  a  peculiar  aspect. 
And  that  aspect  seems  to  be  Christ  glorified^  or  raised 
up,  after  suffering.  Hence  there  is  no  burning  of  any 
part  of  them,  for  the  suffering  is  done.  The  Holy  Spirit 
takes  truth  in  portions,  and  seems  sometimes  to  turn  our 
eye  away  from  one  portion  of  truth  on  purpose  to  let  us 
see  better  some  other  portion,  by  keeping  our  attention 
for  a  time  fixed  on  that  alone. 

Ver.  13.  "  And  every  oblation  of  thy  meat-offering  shalt  thou  season 
with  salt ;  neither  shalt  thou  suffer  the  salt  of  the  covenant  of  thy 
God  to  be  lacking  from  thy  meat-offering :  with  all  thine  offerings 
thou  shalt  offer  salt." 

*  Jarchi  says,  inS  p'^H^a  bs  "  all  sweetness  of  fruit," — sweet  things  ob- 
tained from  any  fruit.  Honey  was  reckoned  corrupting,  because  it  ferments. 
The  Clialdee  uses  UJ^^^^,  in  the  sense  of  fermenting,  a  word  derived  from 
\J5^'^  "  honey." — Rosenmuller. 


CHAPTEE  II.  51 

This  salt  indicates  corruption  removed  and  prevented  ; 
and  in  the  case  of  the  meat-offering,  it  is  as  if  to  say, 
Thy  body  and  thy  substance  are  become  healthy  now  ; 
they  shall  not  rot.  They  are  not  like  those  of  the  ungod- 
ly in  James  v.  2,  "  Your  riches  are  corrupted."  There 
is  a  blessing  on  thy  body  and  thy  estate.  And  next,  it 
intimates  the  friendship  (of  which  salt  was  a  well-known 
emblem)  now  existing  between  Grod  and  the  man.  God 
can  sup  with  man,  and  man  with  God.  (Rev.  iii.  18.) 
There  is  a  covenant  between  him  and  God,  even  in  re- 
gard to  the  beasts  of  the  field  (Job  v.  23),  and  fowls  of 
heaven  (Hos.  ii.  18).  The  friendship  of  God  extends  to 
his  people's  property  ;  and  to  assure  us  of  this  he  appoints 
the  salt  in  the  meat-offerings  the  offering  that  especially 
typified  their  substance.  How  comforting  to  laboring 
men !  how  cheering  to  careworn  merchants,  if  they 
dedicate  themselves  to  God ;  He  is  interested  in  their 
property  as  much  as  they  themselves  are  I  "  Who  is  a 
God  like  unto  thee  !"  But  more  ;  ''  loith  all  thine  offer- 
ings thou  shall  offer  salt^^''  declared  that  the  sweet  savor 
of  these  sacrifices  was  not  momentary  and  passing,  but 
enduring  and  eternal.  By  this  declaration  he  sprinkles 
every  sacrifice  with  the  salt  of  his  unchanging  satisfac- 
tion. And  "  the  covenant  by  sacrifice"  (Ps.  1.  5)  is  thus 
confirmed  on  the  part  of  God  ;  he  declares  that  he  on  his 
part  will  be  faithful. 

Ver.  14.  "  And  if  thou  offer  a  meat-offering  of  thy  first-fruits  unto  the 
Lord,  thou  shalt  offer  for  the  meat-offering  of  thy  first-fruits  green 
ears  of  corn  dried  by  the  fire,  even  corn  beaten  out  of  full  ears."' 

These  are  voluntary  meat-offerings,  and  they  differ 
from  those  of  verse  12.  The  sense  is,  "  If  thou  wishest 
to  make  a  common  meat-offering  out  of  these  first-fruits, 


52  THE  MEAT-OFFERING. 

it  shall  be  done  in  the  following  manner."  A  peculiar 
typical  circumstance  attends  these.  These  are  "  ears  of 
co^'Uf^^  a  figure  of  Christ  (John  xii.  24) ;  and  ^^  ears  of 
the  best  kind,^^ — for  so  the  Hebrew  (^^.'^3)  intimates. 
They  are  "  dried  hy  the  fire ^''  to  represent  Jesus  feeling 
the  wrath  of  his  Father,  as  when  he  said,  "  My  strength 
is  dried  up,"  i.  e.  the  whole  force  of  my  being  is  dried  up. 
(Ps.  xxii.  15.)  "I  am  withered  like  grass."  (Ps.  cii. 4.) 
0,  how  affecting  a  picture  of  the  Man  of  sorrows  !  How 
like  the  very  life !  The  best  ears  of  the  finest  corn  in 
the  plains  of  Israel  are  plucked  while  yet  green  ;  and  in- 
stead of  being  left  to  ripen  in  the  cool  breeze,  and  under 
a  genial  sun,  are  withered  up  by  the  scorching  fire.  It 
was  thus  that  the  only  pure  humanity  that  ever  walked 
on  the  plains  of  earth  was  washed  away  in  three-and- 
thirty  years  by  the  heat  of  wrath  he  had  never  deserved. 
While  obeying  night  and  day  with  all  his  soul  and 
strength,  the  burning  wrath  of  G-od  was  drying  up  his 
frame.  "  Beaten  out  of  full  ears,''"'  represents  the  bruises 
and  strokes  whereby  he  was  prepared  for  the  altar. 
"  Though  he  were  a  son  yet  learned  he  obedience  by  the 
things  which  he  suffered."  (Heb.  ii.  10.)  It  is  after 
this  preparation  that  he  is  a  perfect  meat-offering,  fully 
devoted,  body  and  substance,  to  the  Lord. 

In  all  this  he  is  "  First-fruits^''''  intimating  that  many 
more  shall  follow.  He  the  first-fruits ;  then  all  that  are 
his  in  like  manner.  We  must  be  conformed  to  Jesus  in 
all  things  ;  and  here  it  is  taught  us  that  we  must  be  con- 
formed to  him  in  self-dedication — self-renunciation.  We 
must  please  the  Father  as  he  left  us  an  example,  saying, 
"  I  do  always  those  things  that  please  him"  (John  viii. 
29),  even  under  the  blackest  sky. 


CHAPTEE   II.  53 

Ver.  16.  "And  thou  slialt  put  oil  upon  it,  and  lay  frankincense  thereon: 
it  is  a  meat-offering." 

Ver.  16.  "  And  the  priest  shall  burn  the  memorial  of  it,  part  of  the 
beaten  corn  thereof,  and  part  of  the  oil  thereof,  with  all  the  frank- 
incense thereof :  it  is  an  offering  made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord." 

The  smoke  and  the  fragrance  ascend  to  heaven.  All 
is  accepted — Christ  first,  then  each  of  his  people.  He 
passed  through  suffering,  fire,  and  flame — then  was  ac- 
cepted. They  being  reckoned  one  with  him,  are  treated 
as  if  they  had  done  so  too.  "Whatever  sufferings  are  left 
to  them  are  not  atoning,  but  only  sanctifying. 

THE    DRINK-OFFERING. 

Some  one  might  here  ask,  Why  is  there  no  mention  of 
the  loine-offering  or  drink-offering?  It  is  rather  re- 
markable that  the  drink-offerino^  should  be  omitted  in  the 
midst  of  so  full  a  setting  forth  of  tabernacle  rites.  It 
is  often  joined  with  burnt-offerings  and  meat-offerings, 
as  in  Ezek.  xlv.  17.  But  properly  speaking,  the  Drink- 
offering  was  not  a  part  of  any  sacrifice ;  though  it  was 
never  offered  by  itself  alone.  It  was  a  rite  superadded 
to  express  the  worshipper's  hearty  concurrence  in  all  that 
he  saw  done  at  the  altar.  Hence,  it  could  be  deferred 
till  a  convenient  time  arrived.  It  appears  from  Numbers 
XV.  2,  4,  that  it  was  not  to  be  observed  till  they  came  to 
Canaan,  and  had  reached  the  plentiful  vineyards  of 
Sorek  and  Engeddi. 

But  we  may  notice  in  passing  the  object  and  meaning 
of  this  ordinance.  It  was  "  strong  wine  poured  unto  the 
Lord."  (Numb,  xxviii.  7.)  Wine  is  the  representation 
of  joy,  and  hence  it  was  an  expression  on  the  offerer's 
part  of  his  cheerful  and  hearty  acquiescence  in  all  that 
was  done  at  the  altar.     He  saw  the  lamb  slain,  a  type 


54  THE   DEINK-OFFERING. 

of  atoning  blood  for  his  guilty  soul ;  he  saw  the  meat- 
offering presented,  a  type  of  entire  dedication  to  the 
Lord  ;  and,  therefore,  when  he  lifted  up  the  cup  of  wine, 
and  poured  it  forth  before  the  Lord  at  the  altar  over  the 
ashes  of  the  sacrifice,  and  the  memorial  of  the  meat- 
offering ;  his  so  doing  was  equivalent  to  his  saying,  "  In 
all  this  I  do  heartily  acquiesce.  I  welcome  atoning  blood 
to  my  guilty  soul,  and  I  give  up  my  redeemed  soul  to 
him  that  has  atoned  for  me.     Amen,  Amen  I" 

It  is  to  this  drink-offering  that  reference  is  made  in 
Judges  ix.  13,  where  wine  is  said  to  "  cheer  God  and 
man.''''  It  is  not  to  wine  used  at  table  for  convivial  pur- 
poses that  allusion  is  there  made,  but  to  wine  used  at  the 
altar.  There  it  did  truly  gladden  Grod  and  man.  Like 
the  water  of  the  well  of  Bethlehem  poured  out  by  David, 
it  expressed  the  heart  poured  out.  The  Lord  rejoiceth 
to  see  a  sinner  accept  the  offered  atonement.  Is  not  the 
shepherd's  heart  glad  when  he  finds  the  lost  sheep  ?  Does 
not  the  father  weep  for  very  joy  as  he  sees  his  prodigal 
return,  and  falls  upon  his  neck  ?  And  likewise  the  Lord 
rejoiced  to  see  a  ransomed  sinner  giving  himself  up  to  his 
G-od,  as  he  rejoiced  over  Abraham  when  he  did  not  with- 
hold even  Isaac.  "  He  taketh  pleasure  in  them  that  fear 
him."  On  the  other  hand,  the  sinner  himself  was  glad 
as  he  poured  out  the  wine;  for  there  is  "joy  and  peace 
in  helieving^^''  in  accepting  the  offered  Saviour.  Nor  less 
so  in  giving  up  all  to  the  Lord ;  for  he  that  giveth  up 
"  houses  and  lands,"  for  Christ's  sake,  receives  a  hun- 
dred-fold more  in  this  present  life.  Is  it  not,  then,  true 
that  "wine  made  glad  the  heart  of  Grod  and  man?" 
Might  not  the  vine  that  grew  in  Israel's  land  say, 
"  Should  I  leave  my  wine  that  cheer eth  God  and  man  .^" 
The  olive,  in  the  same  manner,  could  say,  "  Should  I 


CHAPTER  II.  55 

leave  my  fatness  wherewith  by  me  they  lionor  God  and 
man  7''^  (Judges  ix.  9,)  because  olive-oil  supplied  the 
tabernacle  lamps,  as  well  as  lighted  up  the  halls  of 
princes,  and  some  part  of  a  hin  of  oil  (the  special  symbol 
of  consecration)  must  (Numb.  xv.  4,  6)  accompany  every 
meat-offering. 

If  it  be  here  asked.  Did  our  Lord  fulfil  the  type  of  the 
drink-offering  ?  We  say.  Yes  ;  by  the  entire  willingness 
he  ever  felt,  to  suffer,  and  to  obey  for  us.  Even  on  the 
night  wherein  he  was  betrayed,  "  He  sang  and  gave 
God  praise  that  he  must  die^  And  perhaps  there  is 
more  meaning  in  the  words  of  Luke  xxii.  20,  than  is 
generally  noticed.  "  This  cup  is  the  New  Testament  in 
my  blood."  This  wine-cup  not  only  exhibits  the  blood 
that  seals  the  New  Covenant,  but  exhibits  it  as  the  ivine 
that  may  cheer  our  souls.  The  blood  of  the  grape  of  the 
True  Vine  gladdens  Grod  and  man. 

But  returning  to  the  immediate  subject  of  the  chapter 
before  us,  let  us  sum  it  up  by  briefly  quoting  Hannah's 
offering  (1  Sam.  i.  24)  when  Samuel  was  weaned.  "We 
find  there  three  bullocks.  This  is  the  burnt-offering — a 
bullock  for  herself,  and  for  her  husband,  and  for  her 
child ;  and  as  if  to  express  her  belief  that  her  child  needed 
atoning  blood,  she  offers  a  bullock  for  him  as  well  as  for 
herself,  nay  (v.  25),  expressly  offers  it  at  the  moment  of 
presenting  him.  Next,  we  find  the  ephah  of  flour.  This 
is  the  meat-offering.  It  expresses  the  dedication  of 
themselves  and  all  they  had  to  God.  An  ephah  contained 
ten  omers  or  ten  deals,  and  three  of  these  was  the  usual 
quantity  that  went  to  each  meat-offering  (Numb.  xv.  9, 
12)  on  such  an  occasion  as  this.  But  here,  no  doubt, 
their  meat-offering  had  more  than  three  omers,  just  in 
order  to  show  overflowing  love.     The  bottle  of  wine^  last 


56  THE  DEINK-OFFERING. 

of  all,  was  intended  as  the  drink-offering' ;  and  as  an 
ephah  of  flour  was  far  more  than  was  required  by  law, 
even  for  so  many  persons  (Numb.  xv.  9),  so  no  doubt 
this  bottle  of  wine  was  more  than  full  measure,  and  was 
poured  out  before  the  Lord  to  express  the  entire  cheer- 
fulness wherewith  all  this  was  done  by  the  parties  con- 
cerned. It  was  after  all  this  (1  Sam.  i.  28,  and  ii.  1) 
that  they  filled  the  tabernacle  with  the  voice  of  adoration 
and  praise,  and  then  returned  rejoicing  to  Ramah. 

That  this  mode  of  worshipping  the  Lord  was  not  in- 
frequent in  Israel  may  appear,  further,  from  1  Sam.  x.  3. 
The  three  worshippers  whom  Saul  met  "  going  up  to 
Grod  to  Bethel,"  along  Tabor-plain,  were  carrying,  1.  A 
kid;  one  for  each,  to  be  a  burnt-offering ;  2.  A  loaf  of 
bread,  or  large  cake  ;  one  for  each,  to  be  a  meat-offering ; 
3.  A  bottle  of  wine  ;  one  for  all,  as  in  Samuel's  case. 

*'  Happy  are  the  people  that  are  in  such  a  case ;  yea, 
happy  the  people  whose  Grod  is  the  Lord  !"  Happy  the 
people  where  again  and  again  some  thankful  worshipper 
is  saying,  "  What  shall  I  render  to  the  Lord  for  all  his 
benefits  towards  me  ?  I  will  take  the  cup  of  salvation, 
and  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord."  (Psalm  cxvi.  13.) 
The  drink-offering  of  ivine,  poured  out  before  the  Lord 
over  the  peace-offering  that  some  Israelite  had  brought 
in  the  way  of  thanks  for  benefits  received  (as  Numb.  xv. 
3,  directs),  this  is  "  the  cup  of  salvation.''''  And  from 
time  to  time  the  courts  of  the  Lord's  house  are  enlivened 
by  the  happy  countenance  of  some  grateful  worshipper, 
who  smiles  with  delight  as  the  priest  pours  out  for  him 
the  sparkling  wine  of  Lebanon  or  Sorek.  Nor  is  it  less 
true  that  the  Lord  himself  rejoices  ;  his  heart  is  "  cheer- 
ed ;"  he  rests  in  his  love,  making  his  love  the  very 
canopy  over  all. 


sf.       €\it  1^tut-(^tttxhp 


WHEREFORE,  BEING  JUSTIFIED  BY  FAITH  WE  HAVE  PEACE  WITH  GOD,  THROUGH 
OUR  LORD  JESUS  CHRIST ;  BY  WHOM  ALSO  WE  HAVE  ACCESS  BY  FAITH  INTO  THIS 
GRACE  WHEREIN  WB  STAND." Rom,  V.  1,  2. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

Vei*.  1.  "And  if  his  oblation  be  a  sacrifice  of  peace-offering;  if  he 
offer  it  of  the  herd,  whether  it  be  a  male  or  female,  he  shall  offer 
it  without  blemish  before  the  Lord." 

The  Peace-offering^  is  introduced  to  our  notice  with- 
out any  formal  statement  of  the  connection  between  it 
and  the  preceding  offerings.  That  there  is  a  connection 
is  taken  for  granted,  and  the  Prophet  Amos  v.  22,  refers 
to  this  understood  order  when  he  says,  "  Though  ye  offer 
me  burnt-offerings,  and  your  meat-offerings ,  I  will  not 
accept  them,  neither  will  regard  the  peace-offerings  of 
your  fat  beasts."  The  connection  is  simply  this  :  a  justi- 
fied soul,  devoted  to  the  Lord  in  all  things,  spontaneously 
engages  in  acts  of  praise  and  exercises  of  fellowship. 
The  Lord  takes  for  granted  that  such  a  soul,  having  free 
access  to  him  now,    will  make   abundant  use  of  that 

*  In  Hebrew  the  word  is  always  plural,  except  in  Amos  v.  22.  It  is  in 
every  other  place  d'^'abd,  perhaps  equivalent  to  "  things  pertaining  to 
'peace" — things  that  spoke  of  peace,  viz.,  the  divided  pieces  of  the  sacrifice, 
some  parts  burnt  on  the  altar,  some  feasted  upon  by  the  priest,  some  by 
the  offerer.  Various  sorts  of  blessing,  included  in  the  word  peace,  were 
thus  set  forth. 


58  THE  PEACE-OFFERINGS. 

access.  Often  will  this  now  redeemed  sinner  look  up 
and  sing,  "  0  Lord,  truly  I  am  thy  servant,  I  am  thy 
servant,  and  the  son  of  thy  handmaid  ;  thou  hast  loosed 
my  bonds ;  I  will  offer  to  thee  the  sacrifice  of  thanks- 
givings and  will  call* upon  the  name  of  the  Lord.  (Psalm 
cxvi.  16.) 

The  animal  might  be  a  female.  In  this  offering  the 
effects  of  atonement  are  represented  more  than  the 
manner  of  it ;  and  therefore  there  is  no  particular  restric- 
tion to  males.^  Just  as  we  afterwards  find  that  part 
of  the  animal  was  to  be  feasted  upon^  and  not  all  to  be 
burned,  as  in  the  whole-burnt-offering  ;  because  here  the 
object  principally  intended  is  to  show  Christ's  offering 
conveying  blessing  to  the  offerer.  It  is  true,  that  in  the 
peace-offering  presented  by  the  priest  himself,  and  in 
that  presented  at  the  season  of  first-fruits,  there  is  an 
injunction  that  it  be  a  inale  that  is  offered ;  but  the 
reason  in  these  cases  may  be,  that  on  occasions,  which 
were  more  than  ordinarily  solemn,  there  was  a  special 
intention  to  exhibit  something  of  the  manner^  as  well  as 
the  effects,  of  Christ's  sacrifice.  Himself.,  as  well  as 
what  he  accomplished,  was  to  be  shown. 

It  must  be  "  ivithout  blemish  ;"  for  it  represents  "  the 
holy  child  Jesus  ;"  "  altogether  lovely  ;"  "  Who  knew  no 
sin" — the  Head  of  a  Church  that  is  to  be  ''  without  spot, 
or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing." 

Ver.  2.  "  And  lie  shall  lay  his  hand  upon  the  head  of  his  offering,  and 
kill  it  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation :  and  Aaron's 
sons,  the  priests,  shall  sprinkle  the  blood  upon  the  altar  round 
about." 

*  So,  a  Kid  might  be  taken  as  well  as  a  Lamb  for  the  Passover.  (Exod. 
xiii.  5.)  Attention  was  directed  to  the  use  made  of  the  blood ;  not  to  the 
kind  of  animal. 


CHAPTER  III.  59 

The  offerer's  hand,  resting  on  the  head  of  the  animal, 
was  equivalent  to  his  pointing  to  Christ  as  the  source  of 
his  blessings  ;  q.  d.  "  The  chastisement  of  my  peace  is 
laid  upon  him ;  therefore  I  am  come  this  day,  laden  with 
benefits,  to  give  thanks  while  I  enjoy  the  blessing."  (See 
above,  chap.  i.  5.)  And  let  us  again  notice  the  words 
"  kill  it  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle.''^  We  cannot  cross 
the  threshold  of  his  Father's  house,  and  enter  his  many 
mansions,  except  by  his  peace-speaking  blood.  ^^  Being 
justified  by  faith^  we  have  peace — ive  have  access  into 
his  grace.''''     (Rom.  v.  1,  2.) 

Vers  3.  4,  "  And  he  shall  offer  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  peace-offering  an 
offering  made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord  ;  the  fat  that  covereth  the  in- 
wards, and  all  the  fat  that  is  upon  the  inwards,  and  the  two  kidneys, 
and  the  fat  that  is  on  them,  which  is  by  the  flanks,  and  the  caul 
above  the  liver,  with  the  kidneys,  it  shall  he  take  away." 

From  a  comparison  of  Exod.  xxix.  13,  it  becomes  plain 
that  all  the  pieces  here  mentioned  were  to  be  removed 
from  the  animal,  and  burnt  by  themselves.  "  It  shall 
he  take''''  is  equivalent  to  "  this — all  this  shall  he  take.'''' 

They  were  not  to  burn  the  whole  animal,  but  only 
these  portions.  These  portions  were  like  "  the  mernoriaV 
(chap  ii.  2)  in  the  case  of  the  meat-offering.  And  the 
parts  chosen  for  this  end  are  the  richest  parts,  the  fat — 
the  fat  ivithin^  and  the  fat  that  might  be  said  to  be  with- 
out (ver.  9),  in  the  case  of  the  lamb. 

Peculiar  care  is  to  be  given  to  take  out  all  the  fat 
that  ivas  within,  "  the  fat  that  covers  the  inwards^''''  or 
intestines  ;  next,  ''  the  kidneys,''^  which  are  composed  of 
the  richest  substance,  richer  than  even  fat  ;^  then  ^Hhe 

*  Hence  Deut.  xxii.  14,  "  the  fat  of  the  kidneys  of  wheat''  is  used  to  ex- 
press the  highest  degree  of  richness  in  the  wheat.  Patrick  quotes  Aris- 
totle de  Animal,  iii.  9,  "  l^.'^vcn  6c  vcfpoi  ixaXiara  rdv  (T7r\aYX*"^^  TrtjjizXrii'." 


bO  THE   PEACE-OFFERINGS. 

fat  in  which  the  kidneys'''  are  imbedded,  and  which  is 
'^on  the  loins''''  (flanks),  i.  e.  the  inner  fat  muscles  of  the 
loins  which  had  the  collops  of  fat  (Job  xv.  27) ;  and  "  the 
caul  {^'^!^^)  above  the  liver  and  above  the  kidneys.''^  (See 
the  margin  and  the  original  Hebrew.)  It  is  not  easy  to 
ascertain  the  meaning  of  "  the  caul^''^  some  making  it  one 
of  the  lobes  of  the  liver  (Gresenius,  from  the  Septiiagint); 
others  the  midriff ;  and  others  the  gall-bladder.  It  is 
every  way  likely  that  it  was  some  fat  part  near  the  liver 
and  kidneys. 

Now,  observe  that  all  these  portions  of  the  animal  are 
the  richest ;  and  also  deeply  seated,  near  the  heart.  In 
an  offering  of  thanks  and  fellowship,  nothing  was  more 
appropriate  than  to  enjoin  that  the  pieces  presented 
should  be  those  seated  deep  within.  We  approach  a  rec- 
onciled Grod,  to  hold  fellowship  with  him  as  Adam  did 
in  Eden  in  the  cool  of  the  day ;  or  rather  as  those  before 
the  throne  do  in  their  holy  worship.  We  come  to  praise, 
to  glorify,  to  enjoy  our  God.  What,  then,  can  we  bring 
but  the  most  inward  feelings,  all  of  the  richest  kind.,  and 
all  from  the  depth  of  the  soul.  Our  reins  (Heb.  J^t^^s, 
same  as  "  kidneys")  must  yield  their  desires  in  all  abund- 
ance, to  the  Grod  that  trieth  the  "  heart  and  reins." 
(Psalm  vii.  9.)  Our  loins  were  before  "  filled  with  pain" 
(Isa.  xxi.  3),  because  sin's  "  loathsome  disease"  spread 
through  them  (Psalm  xxxviii.  7)  ;  therefore  now  we  con- 
secrate their  strength,  using  it  all  for  him,  "  the  effectual 
working  of  whose  power"  has  set  us  free.  Yea,  whatever 
can  be  found  anywhere  in  or  about  our  heart  and  reins, 
we  yield  it  all  to  Him  who  "  poured  out  his  soul  unto 
death."     This  is  communion  with  God. 

Such  was  the  rich  offering  of  his  soul  which  Jesus 
made  as  our  peace-offering,  when  "by  the  Eternal  Spirit 


CHAPTER  III.  61 

he  offered  himself  to  God."  Every  deep  affection,  every 
emotion,  all  that  love  could  feel,  all  that  desire  could 
yearn  over,  was  presented  by  him  to  the  Father  in  that 
hour  when  he  became  "  our  peace."     (Eph.  ii.  14.) 

And  all  these  feelinsrs  were  at  the  moment  tried  and 
tested  by  the  fire  which  blazed  around  them.  The  just 
wrath  of  Grod  seemed  to  spurn  and  thrust  down  each 
heartfelt  emotion ;  yet  all  remained  unchanged  and  un- 
diminished, and  were  poured  into  the  mould  of  the  Father's 
heart  by  that  very  heat  of  wrath. 

We,  as  reconciled,  are  to  pour  out  these  same  feelings 
in  all  their  fulness,  but  under  the  kindly  influence  of 
love.  The  heat  of  love,  not  the  fire  of  wrath,  is  to  melt 
our  souls  and  pour  forth  our  feelings. 

Ver.  5.  "  And  Aaron's  sons  shall  burn  it  on  the  altar  upon  the  burnt- 
sacrifice,  '^hich  is  upon  the  wood  that  is  on  the  fire  ;  it  is  an  offering 
made  by  fire  of  a  sweet  savor  unto  the  Lord." 

Here  the  Septuagint  have  "  ^(^M  s^^^ocg  Xu^fw,"  the 
terms  employed  by  Paul  in  Eph.  v.  2.     "  Ovaia  eig  dafa^i^ 

The  parts  thus  prepared,  the  fat  parts,  are  to  be  put  on 
the  altar ;  but  not  at  random,  anywhere  on  the  altar. 
A  particular  mode  is  fixed  upon.  They  are  to  be  put  "  on 
the  sacrifice  that  is  upon  the  wood  ivhich  feeds  the  fiame'^'' 
of  the  altar.  The  daily  sacrifice  is  referred  to,  which 
typified  the  atonement  in  all  its  fulness.  Upon  this, 
therefore,  must  the  pieces  of  the  peace-offerings  be  laid. 
Our  daily  acts  of  communion  with  Grod,  our  daily  praise, 
our  daily  thanksgiving,  must  be  founded  afresh  on  the 
work  of  Jesus.  ''  By  him  therefore  let  us  offer  the 
sacrifice  of  praise  to  God  continually^  (Heb.  xiii. 
15.) 


62  THE  PEACE-OFFERINGS. 

Ver.  6.  "  And  if  his  offering  for  a  sacrifice  of  peace-offering  unto  the  Lord 
be  of  the  flock,  male  or  female,  he  shall  offer  it  without  blemish." 

The  Father's  delight  in  his  Son  seems  plainly  exhibited 
in  the  ever-recurrinsj  direction — "  without  hlemishP  The 
eye  of  G-od  rested  with  infinite  complacency  on  the  spot- 
lessness  of  Jesus.  "  Behold  !  my  servant  whom  I  have 
chosen,  mine  elect  (q.  d.  my  chosen  Lamb),  in  whom 
my  soul  delighteth."  It  is  an  expression  that  teaches  us 
by  its  frequent  repetition,  both  the  holy  delight  which 
the  Father  had  in  "  the  holy  child  Jesus,"  and  the  delight 
he  will  have  in  his  unblemished  Church.  It  is  a  holy 
God  that  speaks  ;  it  is  the  author  of  the  holy  law.  The 
lawgiver  is  he  who  prescribes  the  type  of  a  fulfilled  and 
satisfied  law.  We  recognize  the  God  and  father  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  "just,  while  he  justifies."  It  is  truly 
pleasant,  unspeakably  precious,  to  see  God's  thorough 
demand  for  spotlessness ;  for  thus  we  are  assured,  that 
beyond  all  doubt,  our  reconciliation  is  solid.  It  is  full 
reconciliation  to  a  God  who  is  fully  satisfied. 

Vers.  7,  8.  "  If  he  offer  a  lamb  for  his  offering,  then  shall  he  offer  it 
before  the  Lord.  And  he  shall  lay  his  hand  upon  the  head  of  his 
offering,  and  kill  it  before  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation :  and 
Aaron's  sons  shall  sprinkle  the  blood  thereof  round  about  upon  the 
altar." 

The  lamb  is  as  fully  acknowledged  as  the  offering  from 
the  herd,  the  bullock  or  heifer.  For  it  is  not  the  thing 
itself,  but  what  it  represented,  that  has  value  in  it.  One 
of  the  ends  answered  by  permitting  a  gradation  in  the 
value  of  the  things  sacrificed,  was  this ;  it  turned  attention 
to  the  antitype^  instead  of  the  type  itself — to  the  Lamb 
of  God^  instead  of  the  value  of  the  mere  animal. 

Vers.  9,  10.  "And  he  shall  offer  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  peace-offering 
an  offering  made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord ;  the  fat  thereof,  and  the 


CHAPTER  III.  63 

whole  rump,  it  shall  he  take  off  hard  by  the  back-bone  ;  and  the 
fat  that  covereth  the  inwards,  and  all  the  fat  that  is  upon  the 
inwards,  and  the  two  kidneys,  and  the  fat  that  is  upon  them,  which 
is  by  the  flanks,  and  the  caul  above  the  liver,  with  the  kidneys,  it 
shall  he  take  away." 

The  only  difference  here,  from  vers.  3,  4,  is  that  here 
we  have,  in  addition  to  the  other  pieces,  already  noticed, 
"  the  rump.)''''  or  tail  (!^^^i<).  In  Syrian  sheep,  this  was  a 
part  of  the  animal  which  the  shepherd  reckoned  very 
valuable ;  it  is  large,^  and  being  composed  of  a  sub- 
stance between  fat  and  marrow — not  inferior  in  taste  and 
quality  to  marrow.  Still  the  richest  portions  are  claimed 
for  the  altar.  Every  rich  thought,  every  rich  emotion, 
every  intense  feeling,  was  devoted  by  Christ  for  us,  and  is 
to  be  now  sent  back  by  us  to  him.  And  it  is  said,  "  the 
tail  he  shall  remove  close  to  the  hack-hone^''  q.  d.,  take 
it  entire  and  complete — leave  nothing  behind. 

Perhaps  we  are  entitled  to  consider  the  Psalmist  as 
referring  to  this  offering  in  Psa.  Ixiii.  5,  "ilf^/  soul  shall 
he  satisfied  as  with  marrotv  and  fatness'''' — ^here  is  the 
reference  to  the  pieces  presented — q.  d..  My  soul  shall  be 
satisfied,  as  if  I  had  received  all  that  is  intimated  bv  the 
rich  pieces  of  the  peace-offering.  And  so,  also,  when 
Isaiah  says  (Iv.  2),  "  Eat  ye  that  which  is  good,  and  let 
your  soul  delight  itself  in  fatness,^''  q.  d..  Come  to  the 
great  peace-offering,  and  take  the  richest  portions,  even 
those  selected  for  G-od  !  Enjoy  the  very  love  wherewith 
the  Father  loveth  the  Son ! 

Ver.  11.     "  And  the  priest  shall  burn  it  upon  the  altar  ;  it  is  the  food  of 
the  offering  made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord." 

Instead  of  saying,  "  It  is  a  sweet  savor,"  we  have  here 

*  This  is  so  well  known  that  writers  usually  refer  us  to  Aristotle  de 
Animal.  8,  28,  where  he  says,  "  Oupas  ix^i  to  TrXaroj  tt;7;^£wj." 


64:  THE   PEACE-OFFERINGS. 

another  expression,  equally  significant.  "  It  is  the  food, 
the  sacrifice  made  by  fireP  It  is  called  "food,"  or 
"  bread,"  because  God  is  now  regarded  as  a  father,  feast- 
ing his  prodigal  children  who  have  returned  home,  or  as 
a  friend  entertaining  guests.  Hence  Ezekiel  xliv.  7, 
"  Ye  offer  my  bread,  the  fat  and  the  blood  ;"  and  hence 
the  altar  is  called  ^^  the  table  of  the  Lord."  (Mai.  i.  7; 
also  Levit.  xxi.  22.)  This  represents  Grod  as  one  at 
table  with  his  people ;  they  feast  together.  He  is  no 
more  their  foe.  If  it  was  the  chief  aggravation  of  Judas' 
sin,  "  He  that  eateth  bread  with  me  hath  lifted  up  his 
heel  asrainst  me ;"  then  it  is  impossible  for  G-od  to  be 
otherwise  than  an  eternal  friend,  "  an  Everlasting  Father," 
to  those  he  invites  home.  In  this  view  we  see  the  keen- 
ness of  the  reproach  in  Mai.  i.  7, 12,  and  in  Ezek.  xliv.  7. 
They  treated  the  privilege  of  children  and  friends  with 
contempt ;  God,  in  his  most  kindly  aspect,  was  despised 
and  scorned. 

Vers.  12,  13.  "  And  if  his  offering  be  a  goat,  then  he  shall  offer  it  before 
the  Lord.  And  he  shall  lay  his  hand  upon  the  head  of  it,  and  kill 
it  before  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation  :  and  the  sons  of  Aaron 
shall  sprinkle  the  blood  thereof  upon  the  altar  round  about.  And 
he  shall  offer  thereof  his  offering,  even  an  offering  made  by  fire  unto 
the  Lord." 

The  goat  stands  here  in  the  same  relation  to  the  peace- 
offering  from  the  herd,  as  did  the  turtle-dove  and  pigeon 
to  the  bullock  of  the  whole  burnt-sacrifice.  The  poorer 
sort  might  bring  the  goat ;  when  he  could  not  bring  the 
blood  of  bulls,  he  brought  the  blood  of  goats.  And  thus, 
still,  they  were  prevented  from  attaching  importance  to 
the  mere  type. 

The  goat  represents  Jesus,  as  one  taken  out  of  the 
flock  for  the  salvation  of  the  rest.     Let  us  suppose  we 


CHAPTER  III.  65 

saw  "  a  flock  of  goats  appearing   from   Mount  Gilead" 
(Song  vi.  5).     The  lion  from  Baslian  rushes  upon  thisj 
flock ;  one  is  seized,  and  is  soon  within  the  jaws  of  the  \ 
lion !     This  prey  is  enough  ;  the  lion  is  satisfied,   and 
retires ;  the  flock  is  saved  by  the  death  of  one.     This 
incidental  substitution  does  not  indeed  show  forth   the 
manner  of  our  Substitute's  suffering ;  but  it  is  an  illus- 
tration of  the  fact,  that  one  dying  saved  the  ivhole  flock. 
The  goat  is  one  of  a  class  that  go  in  flocks  in  Palestine, 
and  so  are  fitted  to  represent  Christ  and  his  people.     And, 
perhaps,  the  fact  of  an  animal  like  the  goat  being  select- 
ed to  be  among  the  types  of  Christ,  was  intended  to  pre- 
vent the  error  of  those  who  would  place  the  value  of 
Christ's  undertaking  in  his  character  alone.     They  say, 
"  Behold  his  meekness — ^he  is  the  Lamb  of  G-od  !"     Well, 
all  that  is  true  ;    it  is  implied  in  his  being   "  without 
blemish."     But  that  cannot  be  the  true   point  to  which 
our  eye  is  intended  to  be  directed  by  the  types  ;  for  what, 
then,  becomes  of  the  goat  ?     They  may  tell  us  of  the 
meekness  of  the  lamb,  and  patience  of  the  bullock,  and 
tenderness  of  the  turtle-dove  ;  but  the  goat^  what  is  to  be 
said  of  it  ?     Surely  it  is  not  without  a  special  providence 
that  the  goat  is  inserted,  where,  if  the  order  of  chap.  i.  had 
been  followed,  we  would  have  a  turtle-dove  ?    The  reason 
is,  to  let  us  see  that  the  main  thing  to  be  noticed  in  these 
types  is  the  atonement  which  they  represented.     Observe 
the  stroke  that  falls  on  the  victim,  the  fire  that  consumes 
the  victim,  the  blood  that  must  flow  from  the  victim, 
whether  it  be  a  bullock,  a  lamb,  a  turtle-dove  or  a  goat. 
The  Socinian  view  of  Christ's  death  is  thus  contra- 
dicted by  these  various  types ;  and  our  eye  is  intently 
fixed  on  the  atoning  character  of  the  animal,  more  than 
on  anything  in  its  nature. 


66  THE  PEACE-OFFERINGS. 

While  other  types  do  exhibit  the  character  and  nature 
of  the  Saviour,  it  was  fitting  that  one  type,  such  as  this 
of  the  goat,  should  thus  guard  us  against  the  idea  that 
that  in  itself  was  atonement. 

Vers.  14, 15, 16.  "  The  fat  that  covereth  the  inwards,  and  all  the  fat  that 
is  upon  the  inwards,  and  the  two  kidneys,  and  the  fat  that  is  upon 
them,  which  is  by  the  flanks,  and  the  caul  above  the  liver,  with  the 
kidneys,  it  shall  be  taken  away.  And  the  priest  shall  burn  them 
upon  the  altar  :  it  is  the  food  of  the  ofifering  made  by  fire,  for  a  sweet 
savor." 

This  offered  goat  is  as  fully  accepted  as  a  peace-offer- 
ing, as  was  the  lamb  or  bullock ;  for  the  atoning  aspect 
of  the  type  is  just  as  complete  in  this  case  as  in  any  other. 
"  It  is  food — an  offering  made  by  fire" — as  ver.  11. 

Ver.  17.  "  All  the  fat  is  the  Lord's.  It  shall  be  a  perpetual  statute  for 
your  generations,  throughout  all  yoiu:  dwellings,  that  ye  eat  neither 
fat  nor  blood." 

Some  think  *•  the  faf^  is  the  fat  of  beasts  used  in  sacri- 
fice, chap.  vii.  25.  But,  perhaps,  it  was  the  fat  of  all 
beasts  used  "  in  their  dwellings.^''  Those  parts  mentioned 
as  sacrificial  must  always  be  set  aside.  But  the  fat  of 
other  parts  of  the  animal  (the  fat  that  was  part  of  the 
flesh)  was  used,  and  reckoned  a  luxury ;  see  Neh.  viii.  10, 
*'  Eat  the  fat."  This  is  the  most  probable  explanation. 
There  may  be  a  reproof  intended  in  Ezek.  xxxiv.  3,  "  Ye 
eat  the  fat,"  as  if  they  even  took  the  forbidden  portions. 
"  Blood,''''  because  the  life — the  sign  of  atonement — must 
not  be  eaten.  It  is  the  solemn  type  of  the  poured-out 
soul. 

Thus  in  the  dwellings  of  Israel  there  was  something  to 
keep  them  in  daily  remembrance  of  the  Grreat  Sacrifice. 
Their  deep  and  awful  reverence  must  be  felt  at  home  as 


CHAPTER  III.  67 

well  as  in  the  sanctuary.  Their  homes  are  made  a  sanc- 
tuary thereby,  as  they  set  apart  the  fat  and  the  blood  at 
their  tables!  And  thus  they  lived  as  redeemed  men, 
realizing  their  dependence  on  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  de- 
lighting to  cast  the  crown  at  his  feet  in  every  new  re- 
membrance of  his  work. 


Few  ordinances  were  more  blessed  than  these  Peace- 
offerings.  Yet,  like  the  Lord's  Supper  with  us,  often 
were  they  turned  to  sin.  The  lascivious  woman  in  Pro  v. 
vii.  14,  comes  forth  saying,  "  I  have  peace-offerings  with 
me  ;  this  day  have  I  paid  my  vows."  She  had  actually 
gone  up  among  the  devoutest  class  of  worshippers  to  pre- 
sent a  thank-offering,  and  had  stood  at  the  altar  as  one 
at  peace  with  God.  Having  now  received  from  the 
priest  those  pieces  of  the  sacrifice  that  were  to  be  feasted 
upon,  lo  I  she  hurries  to  her  dwelling  and  prepares  a 
banquet  of  lewdness.  She  quiets  her  conscience  by  con- 
straining herself  to  spend  some  of  her  time  and  some  of 
her  substance  in  his  sanctuary.  She  deceives  her  fellow- 
creatures,  too,  and  maintains  a  character  for  religion ;  and 
then  she  rushes  back  to  sin  without  remorse.  Is  there 
nothing  of  this  in  our  land  ?  "What  means  Christmas- 
mirth,  after  pretended  observance  of  Christ's  being  born  ?  : 
"What  means  the  sudden  worldliness  of  so  many  on  the 
day  following  their  approach  to  the  Lord's  Table  ?  What 
means  the  worldly  talk  and  levity  of  a  Sabbath  afternoon,  i 
or  evening,  after  worship  is  done? 

Contrast  with  this  the  true  worshipper,  as  he  appears 
in  Psalm  Ixvi.  He  has  received  mercies,  and  is  truly 
thankful.  He  comes  up  to  the  sanctuary  with  his  offer- 
ings, singing — 


68  THE  PEACE-OFFERmGS. 

^'  I  will  go  into  thy  house  with  burnt-offerings :  I  will 
pay  thee  my  vows,  which  my  lips  have  uttered,  and  my 
mouth  has  spoken,  when  I  was  in  trouble."     (Vers.  13, 

14.) 

In  the  "  burnt-offerings,"  we  see  his  approach  to  the 
altar  with  the  common  and  general  sacrifice  ;  and  next, 
in  his  ''''  paying-vows^''  we  see  he  has  brought  his  peace- 
offerings  with  him.  Again,  therefore,  he  says  at  the 
altar — 

"  I  will  offer  to  thee  burnt-sacrifices  of  fatlings."   (Yer. 

15.) 

This  is  the  general  offering,  brought  from  the  best  of 
his  flock  and  herd.     Then  follow  the  peace-offerings. 

''  With  the  incense  (n'^bp,  fuming  smoke)  of  rams ;  I 
will  offer  bullocks  with  goats.     Selah."  

Having  brought  his  offerings,  he  is  in  no  haste  to  de- 
part, notwithstanding ;  for  his  heart  is  full.  Ere,  there- 
fore, he  leaves  the  sanctuary,  he  utters  the  language  of  a 
soul  at  peace  with  God — 

"  Come  and  hear,  all  ye  that  fear  God,  and  I  will  de- 
clare what  he  hath  done  for  my  soul.  I  cried  unto  him 
with  my  mouth,  and  he  was  extolled  with  my  tongue. 
If  I  regard  iniquity  in  my  heart,  the  Lord  will  not  hear 
me  ;  but  verily  God  hath  heard  me ;  he  hath  attended 
to  the  voice  of  my  prayer.  Blessed  be  God,  which  hath 
not  turned  away  my  prayer,  nor  his  mercy  from  me  !" 

This,  truly,  is  one  whom  ^^  the  very  God  of  peace''''  has 
sanctified,  and  whose  whole  spirit,  and  body,  and  soul, 
he  will  preserve  blameless  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.     (1  Thess.  v.  23.) 


€^t  giii-(DffEring. 


"little  CHILDEEN,  these  things  \7RITE  I  UNTO  you,  THAT  YE  SIN  NOT. 
AND  IF  ANY  MAN  SIN,  TVE  HAVE  AN  ADVOCATE  WITH  THE  FATHER,  JESUS  CHFaST 
THE  RIGHTEOUS  ;  AND  HE  IS  THE  PROPITIATION  FOR  OUR  SINS  :  AND  NOT  FOR 
OURS   ONLY,  BUT  ALSO    FOR  THE  SINS  OF  THE  WHOLE  WORLD." 1  Jobll  ii.  1,  2. 


Were  a  scorpion  on  our  brow,  prepared  to  thrust  in  its 
deadly  sting,  while  we  were  unconscious  of  any  danger, 
surely  the  friend  would  deserve  our  thanks  who  saw  the 
black  scorpion  there,  and  cried  aloud  to  us  to  sweep  it 
off.  Such  is  a  sin  of  ignorance ;  and  God,  who  is  ^'a 
Grod  of  knowledge,"  is  the  gracious  friend.  In  this  char- 
acter he  appears  here. 

CHAPTEE  IV. 

Vers.  1,  2.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Speak  unto  the 
children  of  Israel,  saying,  If  a  soul  shall  sin  through  ignorance 
against  any  of  the  commandments  of  the  Lord,  concerning  things 

«      which  ought  not  to  be  done,  and  shall  do  against  any  of  them." 

The  former  chapters  of  this  Book  have  been  in  sub- 
stance like  the  first  chapter  of  John's  first  Epistle.  "We 
have  been  shown  in  type  that  life  eternal  which  was 
manifested  to  us  in  Christ,  the  great  Atonement.  Next, 
we  were  shown  that  the  Lord  had  a  claim  on  all  that 
is  ours,  and  therefore  must  we  give  up  ourselves  and 
all  that  is  ours  to  him.  This  done,  we  walk  in  fellow- 
ship with  him. 


t7 


0  THE  SIN-OFFERING. 


These  things  have  been  written  to  us,  in  the  first 
three  chapters,  to  the  end  ''  that  we  sin  not" — that  we 
may  not  live  like  the  dark  world  around  us,  but  may  be 
drawn  to  him  who  draws  us  with  his  cords  of  love — the 
Lord  now  speaks  again  to  "  the  children  of  Israel" — his 
"  little  children."  He  points  out  what  is  to  be  done 
when  they  come  to  the  knowledge  of  sin,  of  which  they 
were  not  aware  before.  The  cases  are  understood  to  be 
thijigs  committed^  not  mere  omissions  of  duty  ;  and  how 
saddening  to  find  that  we  grieve  the  Lord  in  so  many 
hidden  ways.  We  have  a  heart  as  prone  to  sin  as  the 
body  is  to  weariness. 

The  sin  through  ignorance  (H^^aj)  is  the  same  that 
David  prays  against  in  Psalm  xix.  12,  ^'  Who  can  under- 
stand his  errors  (nixiaTiJ)  ?  cleanse  thou  me  from  secret 
things'."  These  are  not  sins  of  omission,  but  acts  com- 
mitted by  a  person  when  at  the  time  he  did  not  suppose 
that  what  he  did  was  sin.=^  Although  he  did  the  thing 
deliberately,  yet  he  did  not  perceive  the  sin  of  it.  So 
deceitful  is  sin,  we  may  be  committing  that  abominable 
thing  which  cast  angels  into  an  immediate  and  an  eternal 
hell,  and  yet  at  the  moment  be  totally  unaware  !  Want 
of  knowledge  of  the  truth  and  too  little  tenderness  of 
conscience  hide  it  from  us.  Hardness  of  heart  and  a 
corrupt  nature  cause  us  to  sin  unperceived.  But  h^e 
again  the  form  of  the  Son  of  man  appears  I  Jehovah, 
God  of  Israel,  institutes  sacrifice  for  sins  of  ignorance, 
and  thereby  discovers  the  same  compassionate  and  con- 
siderate heart  that  appears  in  our  High  Priest,  ''who 
can  have  compassion  on  the  ignorant  !"     (Heb.  v.  2.) 

*  Josh.  XX,  3,  "Who  killeth  any  person  in  ignorance  fhj^'irs)  and  did 
not  know,"  i.  e.,  did  not  know  that  his  action  would  have  had  that  effect. 
Comp.  Deut.  xix.  4. 


CHAPTER  IV.  71 

Amidst  the  types  of  this  Tabernacle  we  recognize  the 
presence  of  Jesus — it  is  his  voice  that  shakes  the  cur- 
tains and  speaks  in  the  ear  of  Moses,  ^^  If  a  soul  should 
sin  through  ignorance  /"  The  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  forever ! 

THE  priest's  sin. 

Vers,  3,  4.  "  If  the  priest  that  is  anointed  do  sin  according  to  the  sin 
of  the  people ;  then  let  him  bring,  for  hi-s  sin  which  he  hath  sinned, 
a  young  bullock  without  blemish  unto  the  Lord  for  a  sin-offering. 
And  he  shall  bring  the  bullock  unto  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of 
the  congregation  before  the  Lord ;  and  shall  lay  his  hand  upon  the 
bullock's  head,  and  kill  the  bullock  before  the  Lord." 

The  anointed  priest  must  mean  the  High  Priest,  for 
he  only  was  anointed.  In  ver.  5,  the  Septuagint  have  so 
understood  it,  for  they  give  "  6  legsvg  6  Xgiaiog  6  Tsrsleioj. 
lUeyog."  Now,  the  first  case  is  that  of  the  anointed  priest 
sinning.  "  The  law  maketh  men  high  priests  that  have 
infirmity."  (Heb.  vii.  28.)  This  sin  the  priest  may 
have  committed  in  his  public  services,  in  the  execution  of 
his  office.  Being  invested  with  office,  his  sins  are  pecu- 
liarly aggravated,  and  peculiarly  dangerous — their  effect 
upon  others  may  be  incalculable.  The  words,  ''  accord- 
ing to  the  sin  of  the  people^^  (Q^'fi  r^irxb)  are  more  prop- 
erly rendered,  "so  as  to  cause  the  people  to  sin,'''' — he 
sins  to  the  sinning  of  the  people.  (ToC  tovlaov  djuaQisiv. 
Septuag.  "  Delinquere  faciens  populum."  Vulg.)  The 
Old  Testament  ministry  involved  awful  responsibilities, 
as  well  as  the  New.  The  personal  holiness  of  the  priest 
is  provided  for  by  this  consideration,  that  if  he,  because 
of  deficient  wisdom,  or  because  he  had  not  faithfully 
sought  help  from  the  sanctuary,  were  guilty  of  some  mis- 
take in  the  service,  or  polluted  some  of  the  holy  vessels, 


72  THE   SIN-OFFEEING. 

his  sin  would  injure  thousands  of  souls.  It  might  de- 
stroy the  comfort  of  thousands ;  it  might  misrepresent 
the  way  of  acceptance  to  thousands,  and  thereby  ruin 
their  souls.  It  left  the  sanctuary-door  open  to  Satan. 
And,  on  the  other  hand,  in  such  circumstances,  surely 
the  people  would  learn  to  pray  for  the  ministering  priest, 
and  to  feel  that,  after  all,  he  was  no  more  than  an  instru- 
/  ment  used  by  God  for  their  sakes.  There  seems  thus  to 
have  been,  in  all  ages,  the  flow  of  the  same  sympathies 
through  Christ's  body,  the  Church.  The  Church  has 
been  ever  "  compacted  by  that  which  every  joint  sup- 
plieth."     But  let  us  proceed. 

Hitherto  we  have  seen  atonement  made  by  sacrifice, 
but  now  we  are  to  see  imputation  of  sin.  Atone7nent  is 
effected  by  imputation  of  sin  to  another.  The  priest's  sin 
is  to  be  brought  to  the  altar.  He  is  to  bring  "  a  bullock.'^'' 
This  is  the  very  same  kind  of  offering  as  when  the  whole 
congregation  sin.  As  the  most  bulky  and  most  expensive 
form  of  sacrifice  was  the  bullock,  the  priest  must  take 
this  form  of  sacrifice,  in  order  to  make  more  obvious  to 
the  eye  his  concern  for  his  sin.  He  spares  no  cost  in 
bringing  his  sin  to  the  altar ;  and  the  people  learn  from 
him  to  spare  no  cost  in  bringing  their  sins  to  the  atoning 
blood. 

The  type,  applied  to  our  surety,  may  be  this — that 
when  Christ,  our  Anointed  Priest,  took  upon  him  our  sin 
as  his  own,  he  had  to  offer  exactly  what  we  should  have 
had  to  do  ourselves,  had  we  been  reckoned  with  in  our 
own  persons.  If  there  be  sin  found  upon  the  priest,  then 
his  offering  must  be  no  less  than  the  whole  congrega- 
tion's. 

Vers.  5,  6.    "  And  the  priest  that  is  anointed  shall  take  of  the  bullock's 
blood,  and  bring  it  to  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation ;  And  the 


CHAPTER  IV.  73 

priest  shall  dip  his  finger  in  the  blood,  and  sprinkle  of  the  blood 
seven  times  before  the  Lord,  before  the  veil  of  the  sanctuary." 

The  "  seven  times'''  throughout  all  Scripture,  intimates 
a  perfect  and  complete  action.^  The  blood  is  to  be 
thoroughly  exhibited  before  the  Lord — life  openly  ex- 
hibited as  taken  to  honor  the  law  that  had  been  violated. 
It  is  not,  at  this  time,  taken  ivithin  the  veil,  for  that 
would  require  the  priest  to  enter  the  Holy  of  Holies — a 
thing  permitted  only  once  a  year.  But  it  is  taken  very 
near  the  mercy-seat — it  is  taken  before  the  "  veil,"  while 
the  Lord  that  dwelt  between  the  Cherubim  bent  down 
to  listen  to  the  cry  that  came  up  from  the  sin-atoning 
blood. 

Was  the  blood  sprinkled  on  the  veil  ?  Some  say  not, 
but  only  on  the  floor  close  to  the  veil.  The  floor  of  the 
Holy  Place  was  died  in  blood ;  a  threshold  of  blood  was 
formed,  over  which  the  high  priest  must  pass  on  the  day 
of  atonement,  when  he  entered  into  the  Most  Holy, 
drawing  aside  the  veil.  It  is  blood  that  opens  our  way 
into  the  presence  of  Grod  ;  it  is  the  voice  of  atoning  blood 
that  prevails  with  him  who  dwells  within.  Others,  how- 
ever, with  more  probability,  think  the  blood  was  sprinkled 
on  the  veil.f  It  might  intimate  that  atonement  was  yet 
to  rend  that  veil.  And,  as  that  beautiful  veil  represent- 
ed the  Saviour's  holy  humanity  (Heb.  x.  20),  oh,  how 

*  The  "  seve7i  times"  of  some  passages,  and  the  "  07ice"  of  others  (Heb.  x. 
10 ;  1  Pet.  iii.  18),  intimate  the  same  thing,  viz.,  so  completely  done  that 
no  more  is  needed.  It  is  the  one  action  in  seven  parts,  for  the  satisfaction 
of  all  who  see  it  done,  And  so  the  "  One  Spirit,"  and  the  "  Seven  Spirits." 
The  Pythagoreans  learnt  from  the  Hebrews  to  account  this  number  very 
important  in  religious  acts. 

f  The  Hebrew  is  doubtful;  fisHs  135-  fix  is  put  at  the  close  of  the  sen- 
tence. Most  probably  it  is  so  put,  in  order  to  define  what  "  before  the 
Lord"  meant.  The  Septuagint  is  " Kara  to  Kara-jeraaiia"  But  Aben  Ezra 
has  naiS  b5  HT'i,  "  he  shall  sprinkle  on  the  veil." 

4 


74  THE  SIN-OFFEEING. 

expressive  was  the  continual  repetition  of  this  blood- 
sprinkling  seven  times  !  As  often  as  the  priest  offered  a 
sin-offering,  the  veil  was  wet  again  with  blood  which 
dropt  on  the  floor.  Is  this  Christ  bathed  in  the  blood  of 
atonement?  Yes;  "through  that  veil"  the  way  was 
opened  to  us — through  the  flesh  of  Jesus — through  the 
body  that  for  us  was  drenched  in  the  sweat  of  blood. 

Ver.  7.  "  And  the  priest  shall  put  some  of  the  blood  upon  the  horns  of 
the  altar  of  sweet  incense  before  the  Lord,  which  is  in  the  taber- 
nacle of  the  congregation ;  and  shall  pour  all  the  blood  of  the  bul- 
lock at  the  bottom  of  the  altar  of  the  burnt-offering,  which  is  at  the 
door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation." 

The  priest  retires  a  few  steps  from  before  the  veil. 
Having  gazed  solemnly  on  the  seven  times  sprinkled 
blood,  in  the  light  of  the  golden  candlestick,  he  is  directed 
to  another  act.  He  is  to  approach  the  golden  altar — that 
altar  whereon  sweet  incense  was  presented.  Incense^ 
being  fragrant,  represented  that  which  is  pleasing,  and 
which  has  in  it  acceptability ;  and  when  offered  along 
with  prayer,  praise,  or  any  feeling  of  the  soul,  exhibited 
a  type  of  the  merits  of  the  surety  enveloping  his  people's 
services.  The  liorns  of  this  altar  (said  to  have  been  of  a 
pyramidical  shape),  represented  the  power  and  strength 
that  lay  in  this  mode  of  approaching  Jehovah.  The  horn 
is  the  recognized  symbol  of  power.  Incense  ascending 
between  the  four  horns  was  symbolical  of  praise,  prayer, 
or  any  service  presented  to  G-od,  ascending  with  all- 
prevailing  merit.  And  bloody  placed  on  these  horns,* 
exhibited  the  strong  appeal  to  Grod  made  by  atonement. 
A  strong  appeal  to  God  is  made  by  the  blood  thus  placed 

*  There  is  no  incense  burnt  on  this  altar  on  this  occasion,  "  in  order  to 
teach  us,"  says  an  old  writer,  "  not  to  confide  in  our  prayers  for  pardon." 


CHAPTER  IV.  75 

on  the  horns  ol  the  golden  altar.  It  is  like  the  voice  in 
Eev.  ix.  13. 

"We  have  seen  that  the  priest  first  of  all  sprinkled  the 
blood  on  the  floor,  close  to  the  veil,  or  on  the  veil,  whence 
it  fell  in  drops  to  the  ground,  so  that  a  cry  was  heard 
ascending  from  the  holy  place  itself.  And  then  he 
sprinkled  it  on  the  four  horns  of  the  altar  of  intercession, 
that  an  appeal  of  unbroken  strength  might  go  up  into  the 
ears  of  the  Lord  from  the  very  place  of  strong  crying. 
He  knew  that  it  spoke  better  things  than  the  blood  of 
Abel.  When  the  anointed  priest  was  thus  engaged,  was 
he  not  a  type  of  Jesus  in  the  act  of  expiating  his  people's 
guilt  ?  Probably  the  priest  knelt,  and  then  prostrated 
himself  on  the  ground,  as  he  sprinkled  the  blood  before 
the  veil ;  and  it  would  be  with  many  tears,  and  strong 
crying  from  the  depths  of  his  soul,  that  he  touched  the 
altar's  horns — a  type  of  Jesus  in  the  garden,  when  he 
fell  on  his  face,  and,  being  in  an  agony,  prayed  more 
earnestly,  and  "  offered  up  supplication,  with  strong 
crying  and  tears,  to  him  that  was  able  to  save  him  from 
death."  (Heb.  v.  7.)  Although  in  this  case,  the  priest's 
sense  of  guilt  was  personal,  and  therefore  was  deep  and 
piercing,  yet  when  Jesus  took  on  him  our  sins,  he,  too, 
felt  them,  and  felt  them  as  if  they  had  been  his  own.  He 
cried,  "  Mine  iniquities  have  taken  hold  upon  jne  !"  (Ps. 
xl.  12.)  Identifying  himself  with  us,  his  soul  grieved 
immeasurably  for  the  sin  he  bore,  and  his  tears  dropt  on 
the  awful  burden  which  he  took  up,  as  sincerely  as  if  it 
had  been  altogether  his  own. 

At  length  the  priest  comes  from  the  holy  place — leav- 
ing it,  however,  filled  with  the  cry  of  blood  I  a  cry  for 
pardon — and  proceeds  to  the  altar  of  burnt-offering, 
directly  opposite  the  door.     There  he  pours  out  the  rest 


76  THE   SIX-OFFEEINa. 

of  the  blood,  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,=^  his  eye  looking 
straight  toward  the  holy  place.  "Within  and  without  the 
holy  place,  the  voice  of  atonement  was  now  heard  as- 
cending from  the  blood.  What  a  sermon  was  thus 
preached  to  the  people  I  Atonement  is  the  essence  of  it — 
atonement  needed  for  even  one  sin,  and  applied  as  soon 
as  the  sin  was  known.  There  is  no  trifling  with  God. 
What  a  ransom  for  the  soul  is  given  ! — life — the  life  of 
the  seed  of  the  woman  !  What  care  to  present  it — what 
earnestness !  The  holy  place  is  filled  with  its  cry,  and 
the  courts  without  also;  and  the  priest's  soul  is  intently 
engaged  in  this  one  awful  matter  !  The  people,  per- 
ceiving the  whole  transaction,  must  have  felt  it  singu- 
larly powerful,  1st,  for  conviction — '^  Whosoever  shall 
keep  the  whole  laiv^  and,  yet  offend  in  one  pointy  he  is 
guilty  of  all "  ( Jas.  ii.  10)  ;  and  2d,  for  invitation — 
"  To-day^  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice^  harden  not  your 
hearts.^'' 

Vers.  8,  9,  10.  "  And  he  shall  take  off  from  it  all  the  fat  of  the  bullock 
for  the  sin-offering  ;  the  fat  that  covereth  the  inwards,  and  all  the 
fat  that  is  upon  the  inwards,  and  the  two  kidneys,  and  the  fat  that 
is  upon  them  which  is  by  the  flanks,  and  the  caul  above  the  liver, 
with  the  kidneys,  it  shall  he  take  away,  as  it  was  taken  off  from 
the  bullock  of  the  sacrifice  of  peace-offerings  ;  and  the  priest  shall 
burn  them  upon  the  altar  of  the  burnt-offering." 

The  same  ceremonies  as  were  used  in  the  peace-offer- 
ings, are  intentionally  introduced  here.  (See  iii.  10.) 
The  object  seems  to  be,  to  show  the  offerer  that  he  is  noiv 
accepted.  It  is  not  in  vain  that  he  has  sprinkled  the 
blood  on  the  floor  of  the  holy  place  and  its  altar  of  in- 

*  It  is  said  that,  in  Jerusalem,  there  was  an  underground  canal  at  the 
altar  in  the  Temple,  by  which  the  blood  was  carried  off  to  the  brook  Ce- 
dron.     (Patrick.) 


CHAPTER  IV.  77 

cense,  and  poured  out  what  of  the  blood  remained,  in 
sight  of  all  the  people.  Grod  gives  this  sign  of  recon- 
ciliation, viz.,  at  this  stage  of  his  offering  the  sacrifice  is 
treated  as  a  peace-offering.  The  voice  of  peace  now 
breathes  over  the  sacrifice,  and  through  the  courts,  as 
much  as  if  a  voice  had  said,  ''  It  is  a  savor  of  rest." 

Yers.  11,  12.  "And  the  skin  of  the  bullock,  and  all  his  flesh,  with  his 
head,  and  with  his  legs,  and  his  inwards,  and  his  dung,  even  the 
whole  bullock  shall  he  carry  forth  without  the  camp  unto  a  clean 
place,  where  the  ashes  are  poured  out,  and  burn  him  on  the  wood 
with  fire  ;  where  the  ashes  are  poured  out  shall  he  be  burnt." 

But  that  the  priest,  and  all  present,  might  go  home 
with  an  awful  conviction  of  the  heinousness  even  of 
forgiven  sin,  other  things  remained  to  be  done.  We  are 
not  to  forget  sin,  because  it  has  been  atoned  for  ;  and 
we  are  not  to  think  lightly  of  sin,  because  it  is  washed 
away.  Our  God  wishes  his  people,  to  retain  a  deep  and 
lively  sense  of  their  guilt,  even  when  forgiven.  Hence 
the  concluding  ceremonies  in  the  case  of  the  priest's  sin. 

The  very  skin  of  the  bullock  is  to  be  burnt — thus 
expressing  more  complete  destruction  than  even  in  the 
case  of  the  whole  burnt-offering.  Here  is  the  holy  law 
exacting  the  last  mite ;  for  the  skin  is  taken,  and  the 
ivhole  fleshy  the  head  and  legs  (i.  8),  the  intestines^  and 
the  very  dung — "  even  the  whole  bullock  /"  Unsparing 
justice,  that  is,  unspotted  justice  !  And  yet  more.  As 
if  the  altar  were  too  near  God's  presence  to  express  fully 
that  part  of  the  sinner's  desert  which  consists  in  suf- 
fering torment  far  off  from  God,  all  this  is  to  be  done 
'^without  the  camp''' — a  distance,  it  is  calculated,  of 
four  miles  from  the  holy  place.  In  all  sacrifices,  indeed, 
this  separation  from  God  is  represented  in  some  degree 
by  the  ashes  being  carried  away  out  of  the  camp ;  but, 


78  THE  SIN-OFFERIj^G. 

to  call  attention  still  more  to  this  special  truth,  we  are 
here  shown  the  bullock  burnt  on  the  wood,  ^^  without  the 
camp^  where  the  ashes  are  wont  to  be  poured  outP  It 
was  over  the  very  ashes  that  lay  poured  out  there ;  for, 
in  the  last  clause  of  the  verse,  the  particle  (b?)  is  used. 
"  The  clean  place''''  is  defined  to  be  this  place  of  ashes. 
It  is  clean,  because,  when  reduced  to  ashes  by  consuming 
fire,  all  guilt  was  away  from  the  victim,  as  intimated  in 
Ps.  XX.  3,  "  Let  him  turn  thy  burnt-sacrifice  to  ashes'''' — 
'^.^^'^^i  the  word  used  here  also. 

At  this  part  of  the  ceremonies  there  was  meant  to  be 
exhibited  a  type  of  hell.  This  burning  afar  off,  away 
from  the  holy  place,  yet  seen  by  the  whole  congregation, 
was  a  terrible  glance  at  that  truth,  "  They  shall  be  tor- 
mented with  fire  and  brimstone  in  the  presence  of  the 
holy  angels,  and  in  presence  of  the  Lamb  ;  and  the  smoke 
of  their  torment  ascendeth  up  forever  and  ever."  (Rev. 
xiv.  10.) 

It  is  plain,  also,  that  Grod  took  the  opportunity  which 
this  offering  afforded,  or  rather  formed  this  part  of  the 
rites  belonging  to  this  offering,  in  order  to  show  some- 
what more  of  Christ's  death. 

In  every  sacrifice  which  was  of  o. public  nature,  or  for 
a  public  person^  the  animal  was  carried  without  the 
camp,  as  we  may  see,  chap.  xvi.  27,  on  the  day  of  atone- 
ment. The  reason  of  this  was  that,  in  these  cases, 
Christ's  j»z/6/zc-sacrifice,  as  offered  to  the  whole  world, 
and  every  creature,  and  as  fulfilling  the  law's  demands 
to  the  last  mite,  was  to  be  especially  prefigured.  It  is 
carried  "  without  the  camp,''^  as  Jesus  was  crucified  out- 
side of  the  gates  of  Jerusalem  (Heb.  xiii.  12),  that  it 
might  be  in  sight  of  all  the  camp,  as  Christ's  one  offering 
is  held  up  to  all  the  world,  to  be  used  by  whosoever  will. 


CHAPTER  IV.  79 

Next,  suffering  far  off  from  the  holy  place,  with  his 
Father's  face  hidden,  and  all  the  fire  of  wrath  in  his 
soul,  and  on  his  body,  Jesus  farther  fulfilled  this  type 
in  regard  to  the  entire  satisfaction  demanded  by  the  law. 
And,  inasmuch  as  he  suffered  at  Jerusalem,  where  the 
ashes  of  the  sacrifices  were  poured  out,  he  may  be  said 
to  have  fulfilled  the  type  of  the  "  clean  place,"  For  we 
see  him,  over  these  remnants  of  typical  sacrifice,  offer- 
ing  up  the  one  true  and  perfect  offering.  But  it  was 
Calvary  that  was  specially  a  ^^ place  of  ashes,''''  inas- 
much as  there  the  demands  of  justice  were  wont  to  be 
satisfied,  and  the  bones  of  victims  to  human  law  cast 
out.  Joseph^s  new  to77ib,  hewn  out  of  the  very  rock  of 
Calvary,  is  the  exact  counterpart  to  the  "  clean  place,^^ 
at  the  very  spot  where  the  ashes  of  so  many  dead  men 
were  to  be  found  all  around. 

And  0,  what  a  view  of  hell  does  the  suffering  Saviour 
give  !  The  face  covering  between  him  and  his  Father — 
the  criminal's  veil  hung  over  him  for  three  hours,  the 
three  hours  of  darkness — away  from  the  holy  place — 
driven  from  the  mercy-seat,  and  beyond  the  bounds  of 
the  holy  city — an  outcast,  a  forsaken  soul,  a  spectacle  to 
all  that  passed  by — wrath  to  the  uttermost  within,  and 
his  person,  even  to  the  eye,  more  marred  than  any  man, 
while  his  cry,  "  My  Grod !  my  Grod  !  why  hast  thou  for- 
saken me  ?"  ascended  up  as  the  smoke  of  the  sacrifice, 
to  heaven,  showing  the  heat  of  the  unutterable  agony,* 
and  testifying  the  unswerving  exactness  of  the  holy  law. 
What  a  contrast  to  his  coming  again  without  sin,  and 
entering  Jerusalem  again  with  the  voice  of  the  Arch- 
angel, in  all  his  glory,  bringing  with  him  those  whom  he 
redeemed  by  that  death  on  Calvery  ! 

In  one  respect  his  people  are  to  imitate  the  view  of 


80  THE   SIN-OFFERING. 

him  shown  in  this  type.  As  he  went  forth  to  witness 
for  G-od's  holy  lav/ — went  forth  without  the  gate,  a 
spectacle  to  all  the  earth ;  so  they,  redeemed  by  him, 
are  to  go  forth  to  witness  of  that  death  and  redemption 
which  he  has  accomplished.  (Heb.  xiii.  12.)  We  are 
to  "go  forth  unto  him  f^  we  are  to  be  constantly,  as  it 
were,  viewing  that  spectacle  of  united  love  and  justice, 
looking  to  his  cross ;  though  in  so  doing  we  make  our- 
selves objects  of  amazement  and  contempt  to  the  world, 
who  contemn  those  whom  they  see  going  forth  to  stand 
by  the  side  of  the  Crucified  One. 


THE    congregation's    SIN. 

Ver.  13.  "And  if  the  whole  congregation  of  Israel  sin  through 
ignorance,  and  the  thing  be  hid  from  the  eyes  of  the  assembly, 
and  they  have  done  somewhat  against  any  of  the  commandments 
of  the  Lord,  concerning  things  which  should  not  be  done,  and  are 
guilty." 

The  moral  law  was  sometimes  broken  by  the  nation 
at  large ;  as  in  the  matter  of  the  golden  calf,  and  the 
murmuring  at  the  report  of  the  spies.  It  is  thought  by 
Rashi  that  a  sin  like  this  occurred  when  "  the  Sanhe- 
drim did  not  instruct  the  people  in  regard  to  some  cere- 
monial observance."  Admitting  that  such  cases  oc- 
curred, yet  it  is  important  to  notice,  that  even  if  the 
people  were  led  into  sin  by  their  priest,  they  are  not 
excused  :  they  are  guilty  and  suffer  the  consequences.* 
The  Prophet  Hosea,  (iv.  6-9,)  shows  that  people  are  not 
freed  from  sin  or  punishment  in  such  cases. 

*  The  proper  rendering  of  "  are  guilty,''  ^TSiai^,  is,  m  this  place,  "  are 
suffering  the  penalty."  As  in  Psalm  xxxiv.  21," 22,  "shall  be  desolate;" 
and  Isa.  xxiv.  6. 


CHAPTER  IV.  81 

This,  however,  is  but  one  way  whereby  the  congrega- 
tion are  led  into  sin.  Often  it  happened  that  a  man 
made  little  use  of  his  knowledge,  and  so  ate  holy  things, 
as  we  find,  chap.  xxii.  14 ;  and  the  whole  people,  in  1 
Sam.  xiv.  33,  eat  of  the  blood.  Though  they  had  not 
despised  the  priest,  nor  refused  the  law  at  his  lips,  yet 
they  might  let  the  word  slip  from  their  mind  ;  as  in 
Heb.  ii.  1,  we  are  told  may  still  occur. 

We  all  know  that  it  is  possible  for  a  child  of  G-od  to 
be  cherishing  unawares  some  idol,  or  indulging,  like  Eli, 
a  too  easy  temper.  Or  he  may  be  rash  in  his  words, 
and  frowning  in  his  looks,  where  Jesus  would  only  have 
looked  on  in  grief.  He  may  be  cherishing  pride  like 
Hezekiah  (Isa.  xxxix.),  or  exhibiting  blind  zeal  as  the 
sons  of  Zebedee.  He  may  be  unawares  substituting 
labor  for  fellowship  with  Grod,  working  without  love, 
and  suffering  without  faith  in  exercise.  Prejudice 
against  particular  doctrines  may  be  his  secret  sin ;  or 
wrong  motives  may  be  influencing  him  to  do  right 
actions.  He  may  contrive  to  retain  the  look  of  green- 
ness when  the  sap  is  gone.  Even  a  whole  community 
of  believers  may  be  pervaded  by  some  such  sin. 

But  more  specially,  a  whole  Church  may  be  in  the 
state  of  the  congregation  referred  to  here.  It  may  be 
denying  some  great  truth  in  theory  or  in  practice. 
Thus,  it  may  make  light  of  the  duty  which  kings  and 
magistrates  owe  to  Christ ;  as  is  done  by  some  Churches. 
It  may  be  suffering  "  that  woman  Jezebel  to  teach  and 
to  seduce."  (Rev.  ii.  20.)  It  may  be  admitting  some 
civil  element  into  the  management  of  its  spiritual  affairs, 
as  is  done  in  many  Protestant  Churches.  It  may  be 
shutting  its  eyes  to  some  great  truth,  or  winking  at 
some  heresy.     It  may  teach  error  in  doctrine ;  or  it  may 

4.^ 


82  THE  SIN-OFFERING. 

have  left  its  first  love.  It  may  have  allowed  discipline 
to  have  become  lax  and  corrupt,  as,  alas !  is  too 
generally  true  of  all  the  Churches  of  the  Reformation. 

These  secret  sins  may  be  keeping  Grod  from  blessing 
the  whole  people,  though  he  blesses  individuals.  Some- 
where amid  these  sources  is  to  be  found  the  origin  of 
much  of  our  inefficiency  and  unprofitableness.  Ai  can- 
not be  taken  because  of  the  accursed  thing  in  the  camp. 
The  mariners  cannot  make  out  the  voyage  to  Tarshish 
with  Jonah  on  board. 

Israel  was  thus  led  to  constant  self-examination  and 
close  attention  to  the  revealed  will  of  Grod. 

Ver.  14.  "  When  the  sin,  which  they  have  sinned  against  it,  is  known, 
then  the  congregation  shall  ofl"er  a  young  bullock  for  the  sin,  and 
bring  him  before  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation." 

Their  oflering  is  the  same  as  the  priest's  because  of 
their  mutual  relation.  The  people's  sin  is  not  over- 
looked, but  is  judged  with  as  much  severity  as  the 
priest's.     Every  man  must  bear  his  own  burden ;  and 

God  is  jealously  holy. 

• 

Ver.  15.  "  And  the  elders  of  the  congregation  shall  lay  their  hands 
upon  the  head  of  the  bullock  before  the  Lord;  and  the  bullock 
shall  be  killed  before  the  Lord." 

The  elders^  in  the  name  of  the  people,  convey  the 
guilt  of  the  people  to  the  head  of  the  victim.  It  was 
this  class  of  men — the  elders — that  put  Jesus  to  death, 
with  the  priests.  Now  here  we  see  that  their  act  was  a 
national  act — strictly  national — since  they  were  repre- 
sentatives of  all  Israel.  And  their  cry,  "  His  blood  be 
on  us,^^  joining  with  the  multitude,  was  a  national 
rejection  of   Jesus.     Ah,  had  they  then  joined  to  put 


CHAPTER  IV.  88 

their  hands  on  him  as  the  acknowledged  sacrifice,  they 
might  have  remained  to  this  day  ! 

The  guilt  of  the  whole  people  was  thus  made  to  meet 
in  one  point,  viz.,  on  the  bullock.  It  is  to  a  scene  like 
this  that  Isaiah  liii.  6,  refers  :  "  The  Lord  made  the 
iniquity  of  us  all  to  meet  on  him."  (12  :?"'isn). 

Vers.  16,  17,  18,  19,  20.  "And  the  priest  that  is  anointed  shall  bring 
of  the  bullock's  blood  to  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation ;  and 
the  priest  shall  dip  his  finger  in  some  of  the  blood,  and  sprinkle  it 
seven  times  before  the  Lord,  even  before  the  veil.  And  he  shall 
put  some  of  the  blood  upon  the  horns  of  the  altar  which  is  before 
the  Lord,  that  is  in  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  and  shall 
pour  out  all  the  blood  at  the  bottom  of  the  altar  of  the  burnt-offer- 
ing, which  is  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation. 
And  he  shall  take  all  his  fat  from  him,  and  burn  it  upon  the  altar. 
And  he  shall  do  with  the  bullock  as  he  did  with  the  bullock  for  a 
sin-offering,  so  shall  he  do  with  this :  and  the  priest  shall  make  an 
atonement  for  them,  and  it  shall  be  forgiven  them." 

The  expression,  ver.  20,  is  to  be  understood,  ''  He 
shall  do  in  this  case  as  he  has  done  already^''  in  the 
case  of  a  bullock  for  sin-offering,  viz.,  ver.  3.  The 
declaration,  "  It  shall  be  forgiven^''^  seems  inserted  here 
because  otherwise  there  is  not  here,  as  in  the  last  case, 
any  particular  exhibition  of  peace  as  in  verses  8-10. 
This  declaration,  therefore,  is  made  that  pardon  may  be 
assuredly  known. 

Ver.  21.  "  And  he  shall  carry  forth  the  bullock  without  the  camp,  and 
burn  him  as  he  burned  the  first  bullock  :  it  is  a  sin-offering  for  the 
congregation." 

It  is  remarkable  that  after  the  declaration  oi  forgive' 
ness,  these  other  ceremonies  take  place.  They  are  in- 
tended, no  doubt,  to  impress  a  horror  of  sin  on  the  soul, 
even  after  it  is  forgiven.  The  forgiven  man  is  most 
capable  of  seeing  the  horror  of  sin;  and  therefore  the 


84  THE   SIN-OFFERING. 

people  are  first  pardoned,  and  then  lead  out  to  see  the  last 
mite  exacted  without  the  camp.  See  the  same  order  ob- 
served, and  for  the  same  reason,  we  suppose,  at  vers.  11, 
12.  None  but  a  pardoned  man  could  have  uttered  Paul's 
cry,  ''  0  wretched  man  that  I  am  ;  who  shall  deliver  me 
from  the  body  of  this  death  ?"     (Rom.  vii.  24.) 

The  identity  of  Christ  and  his  people,  also,  is  taught 
by  their  offering  being  burned  exactly  in  all  respects  as 
the  priesfs,  whose  offering  more  especially  typified  Jesus. 

THE    ruler's  sin. 

Yers,  22,  23.  "  When  a  ruler  hath  sinned,  and  done  somewhat  through 
ignorance  against  any  of  the  commandments  of  the  Lord  his  God 
concerning  things  which  should  not  be  done,  and  is  guilty ;  or  if  his 
sin,  wherein  he  hath  sinned,  come  to  his  knowledge ;  he  shall  bring 
his  offering,  a  kid  of  the  goats,  a  male  without  blemish." 

"  If  a  ruler  has  sinned and  is  suffering"  the 

penalty, ''''  as  in  ver.  13th.  The  ruler  may  sin  ignorantly, 
and  be  led  to  know  his  sin  by  some  suffering,  like  Abime- 
lech,  in  Gen.  xx.  3-17 ;  or  it  might  be  by  some  friend's 
reproof,  or  by  new  circumstances  occurring.     So  ver.  27. 

The  ruler  is  such  a  one  as  those  princes  (n^i^^tos)  of 
the  tribes  in  Numb.  vii.  It  includes  all  civil  masristrates. 
His  high  responsibility  is  here  shown  just  as  in  Prov. 
xxix.  12,  "  If  a  ruler  hearken  to  lies,  all  his  servants  will 
be  wicked." 

It  is  said,  "  The  Lord  his  God;^^  as  if  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  duty  of  publicly  recognizing  the  Lord,  and  of 
rulers  having  the  Lord  as  their  own  God.  A  ruler  is 
specially  bound  to  be  a  man  of  God.  This  is  taken  for 
granted  here,  "  The  Lord  his  GodP  No  casting  off  of 
Messiah's  cords  here.  He  that  ruleth  over  men  must  be 
as  the  Just  One,  "  ruling  in  the  fear  of  God." 


CHAPTER  IV.  85 

"  A  kid  of  the  goats'^  is  his  sin-ofFering.  It  is  a  dif- 
ferent victim  from  that  offered  by  the  priest  or  congrega- 
tion in  order  to  show  that  Grod  definitely  marks  sin.  And 
yet  still  the  essence  of  atonement  is  the  same,  the  blood 
of  a  victim  that  dies.  Priest  or  prince  must  alike  be 
atoned  for  by  blood.  The  "  male  luithout  blemish''''  is  the 
spotless  Saviour,  the  Son  of  man. 

Vers.  24,  25.  "  And  he  shall  lay  his  hand  upon  the  head  of  the  goat, 
and  kill  it  in  the  place  where  they  kill  the  burnt- offering  before  the 
Lord :  it  is  a  sin-ofFering.  And  the  priest  shaU  take  of  the  blood  of 
the  sin-offering  with  his  finger,  and  put  it  upon  the  horns  of  the  altar 
of  burnt-offering,  and  shall  pour  out  his  blood  at  the  bottom  of 
the  altar  of  burnt-offering." 

m 

It  seems  intentionally  twice  stated  here,  that  the  Altar 
of  Burnt-offering  was  to  be  the  place  where  his  sin- 
offering  was  to  be  presented ; — it  is  to  be  killed  where 
the  usual  sacrifices  for  that  altar  are  killed,  and  its  blood 
is  to  be  sprinkled  there.  The  reason  may  be  this  : — The 
altar  of  incense  in  the  holy  place  was  peculiarly  the 
scene  of  the  priest's  intercession,  and  of  the  people's 
prayers  as  a  congregation.  The  sins  in  holy  things 
pointed  inward,  toward  the  holy  place.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  ruler's  sin  pointed  toward  the  camp.  Hence 
the  blood  that  atones  for  his  sin  is  sprinkled  on  the  horns 
of  that  altar  where  it  would  be  publicly  observed.  The 
cry  of  the  blood  on  the  four  horns, — the  strong  cry, 
based  on  all-prevailing  atonement, — was  to  ascend  with- 
in hearing,  as  it  were,  of  all  his  subjects,  inasmuch  as 
his  sins  affected  the  welfare  of  the  nation. 


Ver.  26.  "And  he  shall  burn  all  his  fat  upon  the  altar,  as  the  fat  of 
the  sacrifice  of  peace-offerings :  and  the  priest  shall  make  an  atone- 
ment for  him  as  concerning  his  sin,  and  it  shall  be  forgiven  him." 


86  THE  SIN-OFFERING-. 

The  last  clause  may  be  intended  to  draw  attention  to 
the  fact,  that  in  this  instance  the  atonement  is  because 
of  this  particular  sin,  and  not  simply  because  he  is  a 
sinner  in  nature  and  by  common  actual  transgressions. 
The  opportunity  is  here  embraced  of  impressing  on  us 
the  need  of  atonement  for  particular  sins, — for  every  sin 
by  itself;  and  foj  those  little  regarded  sins  which  we 
apologize  for  by  saying,  "  I  did  not  know  of  it."  Jon- 
athan's sin  in  taking  a  little  honey  (1  Sam.  xiv.  39,  43), 
and  Abimelech's  sin  (Gren.  xx.  6),  show  how  jealous  G-od 
is  of  even  what  appears  sin,  especially  in  public  persons. 

SINS  OF  INDIVmUALS. 

Vers.  21,  28.  "  And  if  any  of  the  common  people  sin  through  ignorance, 
while  he  doeth  somewhat  against  any  of  the  commandments  of  the 
Lord  concerning  things  which  ought  not  to  be  done,  and  be  guilty ; 
or  if  his  sin,  which  he  hath  sinned,  come  to  his  knowledge ;  then  he 
shall  bring  his  offering,  a  kid  of  the  goats,  a  female  without  blemish, 
for  his  sin  which  he  hath  sinned." 

"  A  femaW^  is  here  offered.  Each  kind  of  sin  is  thus 
definitely  noticed,  and  each  sinner's  case  treated  by  itself. 
But  why  is  it  a  female^  since  Christ  is  typified  by  these 
offerings  ? — It  is  not  easy  to  say.  Perhaps  it  was  intend- 
ed by  God  that  by  occasionally  taking  female  sacrifices, 
Israel  should  be  kept  from  ever  once  supposing  that 
atonement  was  not  intended  equally  for  the  daughters  of 
Zion.  The  circumstance  that  a  female  kid  is  here  fixed 
upon  served  to  take  off  the  impression  that  the  male  in- 
timated only  the  atonement  of  the  men  of  Israel.  Though, 
however,  its  being  male  or  female  is  of  use  for  other 
lessons,  it  is  not  the  chief  point  to  be  noticed ;  the  point 
to  be  observed  is,  that  the  blood  is  an  atonement.  The 
subsidiary  ideas  are  not  to  be  dwelt  upon  always ;  but 


CHAPTER  IV.  87 

everywhere  the  principle  of  atonement  by  blood  is  to  be 
kept  in  the  sinner's  view. 

"  For  his  sin  ivhich  he  hath  sinned.''^  Lest  the  man 
should  think  that  the  sin  was  trifling,  because  he  was  a 
common  man,  and  not  a  ruler,  this  emphatic  notice  is 
taken  of  his  sin : — 

Vers.  29, 30, 31.  "  And  he  shall  lay  his  hand  upon  the  head  of  the  sin- 
ofifering,  and  slay  the  sin-ofFering  in  the  place  of  the  burnt-offering. 
And  the  priest  shall  take  of  the  blood  thereof  with  his  finger,  and 
put  it  upon  the  horns  of  the  altar  of  burnt-offering,  and  shall  pour 
out  all  the  blood  thereof  at  the  bottom  of  the  altar.  And  he  shall 
take  away  all  the  fat  thereof,  as  the  fat  is  taken  away  from  off  the 
sacrifice  of  peace-offerings ;  and  the  priest  .shall  burn  it  upon  the 
altar  for  a  sweet  savor  unto  the  Lord ;  and  the  priest  shall  make  an 
atonement  for  him,  and  it  shall  be  forgiven  him." 

The  clause,  "  For  a  siveet  savor  unto  the  Lord^''''  occurs 
here,  though  omitted  in  the  three  preceding  cases.  The 
reason  may  be  to  show  the  worshipper,  that  though  he 
was  a  common  man,  and  not  a  ruler,  yel  still  as  much 
attention  is  paid  to  him  as  to  the  others.  The  offering 
which  he  presents  is  a  sweet  savor,  as  much  as  Noah^s. 
The  full  acceptance  and  full  favor  shown  to  every  be- 
liever alike  is  immeasurably  sweet.  One  family  !  all 
alike  accepted !  and  all  alike  kept  as  the  apple  of  his 
eye  I  And  thus  this  sin,  that  unawares  was  troubling 
him,  is  away.  And  when  even  one  sin,  and  that  a  sin 
of  ignorance,  is  thus  completely  removed,  who  can  tell 
how  much  light  may  flow  into  our  own  cleansed  souls  ? 
A  new  window  is  opened, — a  new  eye,  for  the  scale  has 
fallen  from  it. 

Ver.  32,  33,  34.  "  And  if  he  bring  a  lamb  for  a  sin-offering,  he  shall 
bring  it  a  female  without  blemish.  And  he  shall  lay  his  hand  upon 
the  head  of  the  sin-offering,  and  slay  it  for  a  sin-offering,  in  the  place 
where  they  kill  the  burnt-offering.  And  the  priest  shall  take  of " 
the  blood  of  the  sin-offering  with  his  finger,  and  put  it  upon  the 


88  THE  SIN-OFFERING. 

horns  of  the  altar  of  burnt-offering,  and  shall  pour  out  all  the  blood 
thereof  at  the  bottom  of  the  altar." 

It  might  sometimes  not  be  easy  to  bring  a  kid.  If  so, 
let  a  lamb  be  taken.  Only  blood  must  be  shed.  The 
poor  man's  lamb  is  specially  noticed  and  fully  received 
as  the  rich  man's  offering.  ^^  Like  precious  faith,''^  is 
the  common  property  of  all  God's  family, — "0/^e  Lord, 
one  faith.'''' 

Ver.  35.  "  And  he  shall  take  away  all  the  fat  thereof,  as  the  fat  of  the 
lamb  is  taken  awaj  from  the  sacrifice  of  the  peace-offerings  ;  and 
the  priest  shall  burn  them  upon  the  altar,  according  to  the  offerings 
made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord :  and  the  priest  shall  make  an  atonement 
for  his  sin  that  he  hath  committed,  and  it  shall  be  forgiven  him." 

The  expression,  "  according  to  the  offerings  made  by 
fire,"  should  be  ''  in  addition  to  (bs?)  the  offerings," — the 
daily  sacrifice,  morning  and  evening, — or,  "  upon  the 
offerings,"  i.  e.,  over  the  very  remnants  of  the  daily 
sacrifice.  It  is  exactly  like  chap.  iii.  5.  We  are  there 
taught  that  particular  sins  must  be  cast  upon  the  one 
great  Atonement ;  and  the  cases  that  occur  in  this  chapter 
of  special  guilt  are  just  specific  applications  of  the  great 
truth  taught  in  the  daily  sacrifice. 

Israel  was  taught  that  their  different  offerings  v^^ere  all 
of  one  nature  in  the  main  wdth  the  general  burnt-offer- 
ing ; — one  Saviour  only  was  prefigured,  and  one  atone- 
ment. These  sin-offerings,  presented  '•''upon  the  daily 
sacrifice ^^'^  resemble  tributary  streams  pouring  in  their 
waters  into  one  great  ocean.  "  Christ  once  suffered  for 
sins,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  to  bring  us  unto  Grod."  (1 
Pet.  iii.  18.)*     Oh,  how  anxious  is  our  Grod  to  purge  us 

*  In  Numb.  xxii.  26,  another  direction  is  given,  viz.,  in  a  case  -where  the 
nation  had  for  a  time  forsaken  the  law  of  Moses.  This  happened  under 
several  idolatrous  kings,  such  as  Manasseh.     Ignorance  became  the  sin  of 


CHAPTER  IV.  89 

from  every  stain  !  The  priest's  hyssop  is  introduced 
into  every  corner  of  the  building  that  we  may  be  alto- 
gether pure.  Well  may  we  join  the  seraphim  in  their 
song,   "  Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  of  Hosts." 

Some  have  regarded  the  offences  for  which  satisfaction 
is  made  in  this  chapter  as  offences  of  a  national  kind — 
offences  against  the  Theocracy.,  by  which  an  Israelite 
forfeited  the  favor  of  Jehovah  as  his  Theocratic  Ruler, 
and  was  for  a  time  cut  off  from  his  protection.  Even 
when  taken  in  this  limited  view,  how  significant  are  the 
sacrifices.  The  offender  comes,  confessing  his  sin  and 
bringing  a  victim  to  suffer  in  his  stead.  The  animal  is 
slain  in  his  room ;  the  man  is  forgiven,  and  retains  his 
standing  as  a  protected  Israelite — remaining  under  the 
shadow  of  the  G-uardian  Cloud.  The  sacrifice  never 
failed  to  produce  this  effect ;  but  nothing  else  than  the 
sacrifice  ever  did.  "  Without  shedding  of  blood  there 
is  no  remission.^^  This  prinpiple  of  the  Divine  govern- 
ment was  engraven  on  the  hearts  of  Israel,  viz.,  whosi3- 
ever  is  pardoned  any  offence  must  be  pardoned  by  means 
of  another's  death.  "  The  great  multitude"  of  the  saved 
are  all  pardoned  by  one  of  infinite  worth  having  died  for 
them  all.     See  2  Cor.  v.  14. 

the  next  generation.  Perhaps,  Josiah's  alarm  at  the  hearing  of  the  law 
found  in  the  Temple  is  the  kind  of  case  there  intended.  In  ver.  27-29, 
individuals  are  taught  to  seek  personal  pardon  besides. 


4- 


'm-(!l)§rmg  fnr  $m  nf  Snchtrtoq. 


"  BEETHREN,  IF  A  MAN  BE  OVERTAKEN*  IN  A  FAULT,  TE  WHICH  ARE  SPIRITUAL 
RESTORE  SUCH  AN  ONE  IN  THE  SPIRIT  OF  MEEKNESS." — Gal.  vi.  3. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Ver.  1.  "And  if  a  soul  sin,  and  hear  the  voice  of  swearing,  and  is  a 
witness,  whether  he  hath  seen  or  known  of  it ;  if  he  do  not  utter  it, 
then  he  shall  bear  his  iniquity" 

The  meaning  is,  ''  If  a  person  sin  in  this  respect," 
viz.,  that  he  hear  the  oath  of  adjuration  administered  by 
the  judge,  and  is  able  to  tell,  having  either  seen  or  other- 
wise known  the  matter  about  which  he  is  to  testify :  if 
such  a  man  do  not  tell  all  he  knows,  he  shall  be  reck- 
oned guilty  of  a  sin. 

"  The  voice  of  sivearing^'^  undoubtedly  means  here  the 
adjuration  of  a  judge  to  a  prisoner.  The  term  {^\^) 
employed  here  is  the  same  as  that  used  in  1  Sam.  xiv.  24, 
"  Saul  had  adjured  (^5<>_^)  the  people ;"  and  in  1  Kings 
viii.  31,  "  If  an  adjuration  be  laid  upon  him,  adjuring 
him  to  speak  out  the  truth  f  and  Judges  xvii.  2,  "  The 
eleven  hundred  shekels  of  silver  that  were  taken  from 
thee,  about  which  thou  didst  adjure;^''  and  Prov.  xxix. 
24,  "  He  heareth  an  adjuration,  and  yet  telleth  not." 
The  judge,  in  a  court  of  justice,  was  permitted  to  elicit 

*  "Overtaken,"  is  T[po\r](pdri,  hurried  into  sin  ere  he  is  well  aware. 
(Bretschneider.)     "  Fault,"  is  TTapanTU)i.ia,  transgression,  sin. 


CHAPTER  V.  91 

information  from  the  witness  by  solemnly  charging  him 
to  answer  and  tell  all  he  knew,  under  penalty  of  a  curse 
from  God  if  he  did  not  reveal  the  whole  truth.  It  was 
in  those  circumstances  that  our  Lord  was  placed  before 
the  High  Priest.  (Matt.  xxvi.  63.)  He  was  then,  surely, 
in  the  depths  of  humiliation !  For  now  he  is  called 
upon,  under  threatening  of  the  curse  of  his  own  Father, 
to  break  that  strange  silence,  and  tell  all  he  knows,  "  I 
adjure  thee  by  the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us  whether 
thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.'^^  And  then  it  was 
that  the  Lamb  of  Grod  no  longer  kept  himself  dumb  ;  but, 
bowing  to  the  solemn  force  of  this  adjuration,  showed  the 
same  meekness  in  replying  as  before  he  had  done  in  keep- 
ing silence.  From  the  depth  of  his  humiliation  he 
pointed  upward  to  the  throne,  and  declared  himself  Son 
of  Grod,  and  judge  of  quick  and  dead. 

The  sins  mentioned  in  this  chapter  are  chiefly  sins 
arising  from  negligence — sins  which  might  have  been 
avoided,  had  the  person  been  more  careful. 

The  case  of  the  witness  in  ver.  1,  is  one  where  the 
person  omitted  to  tell  particulars  which  he  could  have 
told,  or  else,  through  carelessness,  misstating  some  things. 
Let  us  learn  the  breadth  of  Grod's  holy  law  !  Not  a  tittle 
fails.  Let  us  learn  the  Holy  Spirit's  keen  observation  of 
sin  in  us.  Let  us  learn  to  be  jealous  over  ourselves,  and 
seek  to  be  of  ''  quick  discernment,  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord."  Much  sin  is  committed  by  omissio?is.  Duties 
partially  done  have  in  them  the  guilt  of  Ananias  and 
Sapphira. 

Ver.  2.  "  Or  if  a  soul  touch  any  unclean  thing,  whether  it  be  a  carcass 
of  an  unclean  beast,  or  a  carcass  of  unclean  cattle,  or  the  carcass  of 
unclean  creeping  things,  and  if  it  be  hidden  from  him ;  he  also  shall 
be  unclean,  and  guilty." 


92  SINS  OF  INADVERTENCY. 

These,  as  well  as  ver.  3,  are  cases  where  others  could 
see  the  pollution,  though  the  man  himself  might  be  un- 
aware of  it  at  the  time.  They  were,  therefore,  cases  of 
a  public  injury  in  some  degree.  Through  inadvertency 
a  man  might  touch  a  carcass^  of  an  unclean  "  beast" 
(•i*h),  the  term  used  for  the  sort  of  animals  most  com- 
monly met  with  in  e very-day  work.  These  are  noticed 
first,  as  it  was  most  likely  they  would  oftenest  meet  with 
them.  Then  "  cattle"  in  the  fields  or  forests.  Lastly, 
*'  creeping  things,"  such  as  the  weazel,  the  mouse,  or  the 
lizard  (xi.  30).  Thus  there  is  a  gradation,  greater, 
middle,  and  smallest ;  as  if  to  say  to  us,  that  any  degree 
of  pollution  is  offensive  to  a  pure  and  holy  G-od.  A  true 
Israelite  ought  to  keep  completely  free  from  all  that  de- 
files, however  trifling,  in  the  eye  of  the  world.  What- 
ever sin  Grod's  eye  resteth  on,  that  is  the  sin  which  the 
man  of  Grod  abhors.  The  man  after  God's  own  heart 
prays,  "  Cleanse  thou  me  from  secret  faults."  (Psa.  xix. 
12.)  And,  in  reference  to  its  being  ''  hidden,''''  yet  still 
chargeable  upon  the  sinner,  he  exclaims,  "  Thou  hast  set 
our  iniquities  before  thee,  our  secret  sins  in  the  light  of 
thy  countenance."     (Psa.  xc.  8.) 

Here,  too,  we  learn  that  "  sin  is  the  transgression  of 
the  lawP  (1  John  iii.  4.)  It  is  not  merely  when  we  act 
contrary  to  the  dictates  of  conscience  that  we  sin ;  we 
may  often  be  sinning  when  conscience  never  upbraids  us. 
The  most  part  of  a  sinner's  life  is  spent  without  any 
check  on  the  part  of  conscience — that  being  dead  and 
corrupt,  fallen  and  depraved,  responding  to  the  man's 
lusts,  rather  than  to  the  will  of  G-od.     Hence  it  is  said 

*  Were  dead  bodies  reckoned  unclean  on  the  ground  that  they  are  the 
fruit  of  sin  ?  The  sting  of  death  is,  as  it  were,  sunk  into  them ;  and  so  sin 
is  proved  to  be  there. 


CHAPTER  V.  93 

here,  that  though  "  it  be  hidden  from  him,''^  he  shall  be 
unclean.  He  is  guilty,  though  his  conscience  did  not 
warn  him  of  the  guilt  contracted. 

Awful  truth  !  We  know  not  what  we  do  !  When  the 
Book  is  opened  and  read,  what  a  record  of  unfelt  guilt ! 
''  Had  they  known^  they  would  not  have  crucified  the 
Lord  of  Glory ;"  but  yet  their  act  was  the  blackest  of 
sins.  Who  can  tell  what  pages  there  may  be  in  the  Book 
of  Remembrance  ?* 

Ver.  3.  "  Or  if  he  touch  the  un cleanness  of  man,  whatsoever  uncleanness 
it  be  that  a  man  shall  be  defiled  withal,  and  it  be  hid  from  him ; 
when  he  knoweth  of  it,  then  he  shall  be  guilty." 

This  last  clause  is  equivalent  to  ''If  it  be  hid  from  him, 
though  he  afterward  come  to  know  it."  "  The  unclean- 
ness of  a  man^''  is  such  as  the  leprosy^  or  a  running  issue 
caused. 

Again  the  lesson  is  enforced,  that  unconscious  as  our 
depraved  souls  may  be  of  the  presence  of  sin,  sin  may 
have  polluted  us  and  separated  between  us  and  Grod.  We 
are  guarded  against  the  deceitfulness  of  sin.  We  need  to 
be  told  of  sin  by  others.  Our  coming  afterwards  to  know 
our  sin,  may  often  be  by  means  of  our  brethren's  reproofs, 
and  their  quicker  discernment  of  evil.  Hence  it  is 
written,  "  Exhort  one  another  daily,  while  it  is  called  to- 
day, lest  any  of  you  be  hardened  through  the  deceitful- 
ness of  sin."     (Heb.  iii.  13.) 

Ver.  4.  "  Or  if  a  soul  swear,  pronouncing  with  his  lips  to  do  evil,  or  to 
do  good,  whatsoever  it  be  that  a  man  shall  pronounce  with  an  oath, 
and  it  be  hid  from  him ;  when  he  knoweth  of  it,  then  he  shall  be 
guilty  in  one  of  these." 

*  Francis  Quarles  truly,  though  quaintly,  says  of  a  sin  of  ignorance, — 
"  It  is  a  hideous  mist  that  wets  amain, 
Though  it  appear  not  'm  the  form  of  rain." 


94  SINS  OF  INADVERTENCY. 

• 

More  literally,  "  If  a  person  swear,  blabbing  with  his 
lips'^ — rashly  uttering  his  vow.  The  careless  way  of 
doing  even  what  is  right  is  here  condemned.  Incon- 
siderateness  is  a  heinous  crime,  for  the  man  is  appealing 
to  God ;  and  especially  so  when  the  thing  vowed  is  evil. 
The  case  of  man  inadvertently  swearing  to  do  evil,  is  a 
case  like  Jephtha's.  Jephtha  meant  good,  but  it  turned 
out  to  be  evil  of  a  flagrant  nature.  The  clause,  "And  it 
be  hid  from  him,"  is  equivalent  to  "  And  did  not  rightly 
understand  the  thing  about  which  he  swore."  There  is 
a  solemn  lesson  taught  us  in  regard  to  the  mode  of  doing 
even  right  things.  Approach  the  Holy  One  with  fear 
and  reverence.  But  alas !  how  plentiful  is  the  flow  of 
hidden  sin  committed  in  our  dedications  to  Grod,  or  in 
resolutions  to  be  his,  expressed  to  him  in  prayer  and 
praise.  Even  in  saying  or  writing  "  Grod  willing"  (n.v.) 
this  secret  sin  may  be  oftentimes  chargeable  upon  our 
unconscious  souls ! 

"  J^  one  of  these ^''  i.  e.,  any  of  the  cases  mentioned; 
the  adjuration  ;  touching  the  dead  body,  or  other  unclean- 
ness  ;  and  rash  vows. 

Vers.  5,  6.  "And  it  shall  be,  when  he  shall  be  guilty  in  one  of  these 
things,  that  he  shall  confess  that  he  hath  sinned  in  that  thing.  And 
he  shall  bring  his  trespass-offering  unto  the  Lord,  for  his  sin  which 
he  hath  sinned,  a  female  from  the  flock,  a  lamb  or  a  kid  of  the  goats, 
for  a  sin-offering ;  and  the  priest  shall  make  an  atonement  for  him 
concerning  his  sin." 

The  first  thing  that  strikes  us  here  as  very  noticeable, 
is  the  injunction,  "  He  shall  confess  that  he  hath  sinnedJ^ 
Abarbinel,  on  the  sixteenth  chapter,  says,  that  confession 
necessarily  accompanied  every  sacrifice  for  sin.  But  we 
have  not  met  this  duty  before  in  the  express  form  of  a 
command,  because  hitherto  the  sins  brought  to  the  altar 


CHAPTEE  Y.  95 

were  open  and  admitted  sins.^  But  here  the  sins  are 
"  hidden ;"  and  therefore  the  offerer  must  openly  con- 
fess them,  that  so  G-od  may  be  honored — ''  That  thou 
mightest  be  justified  when  thou  speakest,  and  be  clear 
when  thou  judgest."  (Psalm  li.  4.)  This  is  the  end  of 
confession ;  it  vindicates  God,  preclaiming  him  just  in 
the  penalty  he  inflicts.  We  see  this  in  Achan's  case, 
when  Joshua  said,  ^'My  son,  give,  I  pray  thee,  glory  to 
the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  and  make  confession  unto  him, 
and  tell  me  now  what  thou  hast  done ;  hide  it  not  from 
me."  (Josh.  vii.  19.)  It  is  thus  that,  when  we  truly 
confess y  we  become  witnesses  for  G-od — we  testify  that 
we  have  come  to  see  the  sin  and  its  evil  which  he  declar- 
ed that  his  pure  eye  saW.  The  original  uses  a  word  for 
confess^  which  in  another  form  means  to  praise  (n'^inn 
and  fi'i'in) ;  and  in  the  New  Testament  as  well  as  the 
Old,  the  two  acts  are  often  reckoned  the  same.  (See  the 
use  of  i^ofxoloyovfiai^)  The  tribute  to  the  holiness  of  the 
Lord,  paid  in  confession,  is  praise  to  his  name.  We 
decrease ;  he  increases. 

"  He  shall  bring  his  trespass-offering'.''^  Some  sup- 
pose that  there  were  on  this  occasion,  first,  the  trespass- 
offering,  and  then  a  sin-offering.  But  not  so :  it  ought 
to  be  rendered,  "  He  shall  bring  his  offering,"  the  word 
a^5$  being  used  not  as  a  specific  term,  but  as  a  general 
term  for  any  offering  on  account  of  sin.  And  it  is  thus 
that  it  is  used  by  Isaiah  (liii.  10),  "Wlien  thou  shalt 
make  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin'''  (i^'d5  d^k  d^ii3n). 

*  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  laying  on  of  the  hand  on  the  animal's 
head  involved  confession  of  sin.  So  common  was  confession,  that  John  the 
Baptist's  practice  of  insisting  on  confession  of  sin  from  all  that  came  to  his 
baptism,  excited  no  opposition.  They  -were  thus  naturally  led  to  lay  their 
eins  on  the  "  Comine:  One." 


96  SINS  OF  INADVERTENCY. 

The  offering  is  to  be  '^  a  female  from  the  flock. ^^  It  is 
a  less  glaring  sin  than  some  other,  such  as  chap.  iv.  1— 
27,  and  therefore  a  female^  and  a  young  one^  is  taken. 
And  either  a  female  kid,  or  a  female  lamb,  may  be  chosen ; 
the  object  being  to  fix  the  offerer's  attention  upon  the 
blood  shed  for  his  sin,  and  not  upon  any  quality  in  the 
victim,  as  might  have  been  the  result  had  only  the  lamb 
been  allowed.  His  s^V^  and  its  atonement  is  all  that 
must  engage  the  offerer. 

Yer.  7.  "And  if  he  be  not  able  to  bring  a  lamb,  tlien  he  shall  bring, 
for  his  trespass  which  he  hath  committed,  two  turtle-doves,  or  two 
young  pigeons,  unto  the  Lord  :  one  for  a  sin-offering,  and  the  other 
for  a  burnt-offering." 

Here,  again,  we  see  the  God  of  Israel  manifesting  him- 
self to  be  that  very  Saviour  who  "  preached  glad  tidings  to 
the  poor."     The  two  doves  are  allowed  for  their  sake. 

But  why  two  ?  Is  this  not  equivalent  to  an  intima- 
tion that  one  turtle-dove  or  pigeon  would  not  represent 
the  Saviour  ?  Is  this  not  attaching  importance  to  the 
mere  material  of  the  sacrifice  ?  The  answer  to  these 
questions  leads  us  to  a  very  interesting  view  of  the 
Lord's  tender  regard  to  the  feelings  of  the  poor  of  his 
people. 

There  is  no  importance  attached  to  the  mere  number ; 
for  in  chap.  i.  15,  there  was  only  one  turtle-dove  sacri- 
ficed ;  and  it  was  sufficient  as  a  type,  and  equivalent  to 
the  one  bullock  or  lamb. 

But  here  and  elsewhere,  where  two  doves  are  offered, 
there  is  a  special  reason  why  two  are  chosen.  The  one 
is  always  for  a  sin-offering,  and  the  other  for  a  burnt- 
offering.  Now,  in  the  sin-offering,  when  it  was  a  lamb 
or  the  like,  there  were   portions  left  for  the  use  of  the 


CHAPTER  V.  97 

priest,  after  the  sacrifice  was  offered,  and  these  portions, 
received  and  feasted  on  by  the  priest,  were  equivalent  to  a 
declaration  of  the  complete  removal  of  the  sin,  since  the 
priest  himself  could  thus  fearlessly  use  them.  But  there 
v^as  no  room  for  this  being  done  when  a  turtle-dove  was 
offered.  There  were  no  portions  for  the  priest  to  feast 
upon.  Hence,  in  order  that  the  poor  worshipper  might 
not  lose  this  consoling  part  of  the  type,  he  is  told  to  offer 
a  second  turtle-dove  as  a  burnt-offering.  And  in  this 
latter  offering,  the  Lord  himself  directly  receives  all,  and 
pronounces  all  to  be  "  a  siveet  savor''''  (chap.  i.  17).  So 
that  the  poor  saint  gets  even  a  more  hearty  assurance 
of  his  offering  being  accepted,  than  does  another  who 
only  gets  this  assurance  by  means  of  the  priest's  receiving 
his  portion  to  feast  upon,  and  seeing  the  priest's  house- 
hold feast  thereon.  •  , 

Ver.  8.  "  And  he  shall  bring  them  unto  the  priest,  who  shall  offer  that 
•which  is  for  the  sin-offering  first,  and  wring  off  his  head  from  his 
neck,  but  shall  not  divide  it  asunder :  And  he  shall  sprinkle  of  the 
blood  of  the  sin-offering  upon  the  side  of  the  altar  :  and  the  rest  of 
the  blood  shall  be  wrung  out  at  the  bottom  of  the  altar." 

There  is  some  difference  in  the  ceremony  observed 
here  in  slaying  the  turtle-dove  from  that  of  chap.  i.  14. 
The  head  is  to  be  wrung  off,  yet  so  as  not  to  separate  it 
from  the  body.  It  would  hang  down  upon  the  lifeless 
body,  the  blood  also  dropping  upon  its  white  clean  plum- 
age. Was  it  meant  to  be  a  type  of  Jesus  bowing  his 
head  as  he  gave  up  the  ghost  ?  His  head,  bleeding  with 
the  thorns  that  had  crowned  him,  dropped  upon  his  bosom 
as  the  sting  of  death  entered  his  holy  frame. 

There  may  be  a  farther  type.  The  Passover  lamb,  of 
which  not  a  bone  was  broken,  prefigured  Jesus  as  one, 
"  not  a  bone  of  whose  body  should  be  broken  ;"  and  yet, 


98  SINS  OF  INADVEETENCY. 

at  the  same  time,  it  prefigured  the  complete  keeping  and 
safety  of  Christ's  body — the  Church ;  as  it  is  written  in 
Psalm  xxxiv.  20,  "  He  keepeth  all  his  bones  ;  not  one  of 
them  is  broken."  So  also  here ;  the  bowing  of  the 
Saviour's  head  seems  prefigured — not  too  small  a  circum- 
stance for  an  evangelist  to  record,  and  for  the  Father  to 
remember  regarding  the  well-beloved  son — but  there 
may  also  be  herein  a  type  of  the  glorious  truth,  that  Christ 
and  his  body — the  Church — cannot  be  separated.  The 
head  and  the  body  must  be  left  undivided. 

In  chapter  i.  15,  there  is  no  mention  of  the  "  sprink- 
ling of  any  of  the  blood  upon  the  altars  Bat  here 
some  of  it  is  first  sprinkled  on  the  side  of  the  altar,  then 
the  rest  wrung  out  at  the  bottom.  The  sprinkling  on 
the  altar's  side  was  quite  sufficient  to  declare  life  taken  ; 
and  as  the  second  dove  wouid  have  its  blood  wrung  out 
over  the  side  of  the  altar,  there  was  a  fitness  in  making 
this  difference.  At  the  same  time,  it  shows  us  how 
sprinkling  a  part  or  pouring  out  the  whole,  express 
equally  the  same  truth ;  just  as  in  baptism  the  symbol 
is  equally  significant  whether  the  water  be  sprinkled  on 
the  person  or  the  person  plunged  into  the  water. 

Ver.  10.  "  And  he  shall  offer  the  second  for  a  burnt-offering,  according 
to  the  manner :  and  the  priest  shall  make  an  atonement  for  him,  for 
his  sin  which  he  hath  sinned,  and  it  shall  be  forgiven  him." 

*'  Thus  shall  the  priest  make  an  atonement  for  him 
[cleansing  him]  from  the  sin  which  he  hath  sinned."* 
The  poor  saint  has  full  and  ample  testimony  given  to 
the  completeness  of  his  offering.  The  one  great  ocean 
— "  Christ  ONCE  suffered" — "  one  sacrifice"  (Heb.  x.  12) 

*  This  seems  to  be  the  force  of  ins<t3r]:Q  here,  and  ver.  6.     It  is  a  con- 
structio  prcegnans,  as  in  ver.  16,  "^"q  i^un. 


CHAPTER  V.  99 

makes  the  bullock  appear  as  insignificant  as  the  turtle- 
dove.    The  waves  of  the  sea  cover  every  shallow  pool ! 

Ver.  11.  "But  if  he  be  not  able  to  bring  two  turtle-doves,  or  two 
young  pigeons,  then  he  that  sinned  shall  bring  for  his  offering  the 
tenth  part  of  an  ephah  of  fine  flour,  for  a  sin-oflfering :  he  shall  put 
no  oil  upon  it,  neither  shall  he  put  any  frankincense  thereon,  for  it 
is  a  sin-offering." 

The  Lord  descends  even  to  the  poorest  of  all,  those 
who  had  no  lamb  to  spare.  He  provides  for  the  Laz- 
aruses  of  Israel,  and  the  widows  who  have  but  two 
mites  remaining,  in  the  very  spirit  of  love  wherein 
Jesus  spoke  of  them.  It  is  Jesus  that  here,  as  Jehovah, 
arranges  these  types  for  the  comfort  of  his  afflicted 
people. 

The  burnt-offering'  was  never  allowed  to  be  of  any 
inanimate  thing.  For  in  that  great  type  of  the  Saviour 
blood  must  flow.  It  must  exhibit  life  taken^  and  the 
sentence,  ''  Thou  shall  surely  die^^^  executed.  The 
sacrifice  which  was  the  groundwork  of  all  the  rest  must 
exhibit  death.  But  this  point  being  settled  and  estab- 
lished, any  danger  of  misapprehension  is  removed. 
Whatever  may  afterwards  be  the  varieties  permitted  in 
the  forms  of  offering,  yet  at  the  threshold  the  necessity 
for  the  shedding  of  blood  in  order  to  remission  must  be 
declared  and  testified.  (Heb.  ix.  22.)  But  now  there  is 
here  a  permission  granted — a  permission  which  cannot 
be  misunderstood,  since  its  application  is  limited  to  this 
one  particular  class  of  persons,  and  for  special  reasons — 
a  permission  to  bring  an  offering  of  fine  flour ^  when 
the  man  is  too  poor  to  bring  two  turtle-doves  or  young 
pigeons.  This  meat-offering  is  expressly  spoken  of  as 
not  the  strict  and  proper  offering,  but  merely  a  substi- 


-V 


100  SINS  OF  INADVERTENCY. 

tute  for  that  better  kind.^  And,  as  remarked  by  Magee, 
the  poor  man  would  look  forward  to  the  day  of  atone- 
ment to  complete  what  this  was  a  substitute  for.  He  is 
then  to  take  a  handful  of  the  fine  wheat  of  the  land  of 
his  Israel.  A  few  ears  of  the  wheat  of  that  land  would 
furnish  enough ;  and  every  Israelite  had  some  family 
inheritance.  An  omer^  or  the  tenth  part  of  an  ephah^ 
is  the  quantity ;  just  the  very  quantity  of  manna  that 
sufficed  for  each  day's  support.  Probably  the  poor  man, 
who  needed  to  bring  his  offering  for  a  sin  committed^ 
was  thus  taught  to  give  up  just  his  food  for  that  day — 
fasting  before  the  Lord. 

As  in  the  jealousy-offering,  no  oil  or  frankincence 
must  be  put  upon  it ;  for  the  very  intention  of  it  is  to 
present  to  the  Lord  the  person  and  substance  of  the 
offerer  (see  chapter  ii.  1)  as  altogether  defiled — a  mass 
of  sin! 

No  doubt  this  new  kind  of  sin-offering  is  intentionally 
permitted,  in  order  to  show  some  things  that  the  animal 
sacrifice  could  not  have  shown  forth.  It  exhibits  not 
the  soul  only  (that  is  taken  for  granted  wh&n  the  body 
and  substance  are  devoted),  but  all  that  belongs  to  the 
person — his  body  and  his  property- — as  feeding  to  be 
redeemed  by  sacrifice,  since  it  has  become  polluted. 
All  is  forfeited — no  frankincense  of  sweet  savor  on  it,  no 
oil  of  consecration. 

Vers.  12, 13.  "  Then  shall  he  bring  it  to  the  priest,  and  the  priest  shall 
take  his  handful  of  it,  even  a  memorial  thereof,  and  burn  it  on  the 
altar,  according  to  the  offerings  made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord:  it  is  a 
sin-offering.      And  the  priest  shall  make  an  atonement  for  him,  as 


*  Socinians  in  vain  try  to  make  a  handle  of  this  case ;  for  if  ever  there 
was  an  instance  where  it  could  be  said,  "  Exceptio  prohat  regulam,"  it  is 
here. 


CHAPTEE  V.  101 

touching  his  sin  that  he  hath  sinned  in  one  of  these,  and  it  shall  be 
forgiven  him :  and  the  remnant  shall  be  the  priest's,  as  a  meat- 
offering." 

The  memorial  of  this  mass  of  sin  is  consumed  in  the 
fire  of  wrath ;  but  the  priest  takes  his  portion,  in  order 
to  show  that  the  sin  is  cleansed  out  from  the  mass. 

Shall  it  not  be  thus  at  the  resurrection  morning  ? 
The  body  now  cleansed,  and  earth  itself  purged  by  fire? 
Then  is  man  fully  redeemed  ;  his  soul,  his  body,  his 
inheritance  or  possessions.  No  sin  left  to  bring  in  a 
secret  curse !  no  Gribeonite-blood  lying  hid  in  its  bosom 
to  bring  on  sudden  and  unthought-of  woes.  No  Achan- 
treasure  in  the  tent-floor,  provoking  the  eyes  of  the 
Lord's  glory. 


In  looking  back  on  this  chapter  concerning  sins  of 
inadvertency,  how  awful  is  the  view  it  presents  of  the 
Lord's  jealousy !  "  His  eyes  are  as  a  flame  of  fire ;" 
and  he  "judges  not  according  to  the  hearing  of  the  ear," 
but  according  to  the  truth  that  remains  untold.  How 
great  the  provocation  that  his  own  saints  give  to  him 
daily,  by  touching  the  unclean,  and  by  other  almost 
imperceptible  movements  of  the  heart  towards  evil. 
"  Woe  is  me  I  I  am  undone  !  For  I  am  a  man  of  un- 
clean lips,  and  I  dwell  among  a  people  of  unclean  lips  I" 
In  such  cases  we  need  to  take  for  ourselves  the  counsel 
that  Cain  rejected  when  the  Lord  said,  "  If  thou  doest 
well  (sinnest  not)  shalt  thou  not  be  accepted  ?  and  if 
thou  doest  not  well  (sinnest),  a  sin-oflering  lieth  at  thy 
door"  (nx-usn  j'nH).  (Gen.  iv.  7.)  How  ancient  is  the 
grace  of  Grod !  How  old  is  that  gracious  saying, 
''  These  things  write  I  unto  you  that  ye  sin  not;  and  if 


102  SINS  OF  INADVERTENCY, 

any  man  5m,  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father, 
Jesus  Christ  the  righteous ;  and  he  is  the  propitiation  for 
our  sins." 

In '  these  ancient  days  there  was  the  same  grace 
exhibited  to  the  sinner  as  there  is  under  the  New  Testa- 
ment. God  held  out  forgiveness,  full  and  immediate,  in 
order  to  allure  the  sinner,  without  delay,  back  to  fellow- 
ship with  himself.  And  as  now,  so  then,  many  abused 
this  grace.  They  used  it  not  to  cleanse  their  conscience, 
but  to  lull  it  asleep.  Of  these  Solomon  is  supposed  to 
complain,*  in  Pro  v.  xiii.  6,  "  Wickedness  perverteth  the 
sin-off ering^''^  nxi^n  tj^oin.  Nevertheless,  the  truth  of 
Grod  stood  sure ;  "  righteousness  preserved  the  perfect.''^ 

*  See  Faber  on  Sacrifice. 


€^t  €nBp^B-'i)Utxh^. 


"  "WHATSOEVER  THINGS  ARE  TRUE,  WHATSOEVER  THINGS  ARE  HONEST,  WHAT- 
SOEVER THINGS  ARE  JUST,  WHATSOEVER  THINGS  ARE  PURE,  WHATSOEVER  THINGS 
ARE  LOVELY,  WHATSOEVER  THINGS  ARE  OF  GOOD  REPORT  .  .  .  THINK  ON  THESE 
THINGS   .   .   .    AND  THE  GOD  OF  PEACE  SHALL  BE  WITH  YOU." Phil.  iv.  8,  9. 


CHAPTER  v.— Continued. 

•r 

Ver.  14.    "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying.  If  a  soul  commit  a 
trespass." 

Many  of  the  best  writers,  such  as  Outram,  come  to  no 
definite  conclusion  as  to  the  difference  between  the  sin- 
offering-  and  the  trespass-offering.  But  we  are  satisfied, 
on  the  whole,  that  the  trespass-offering  (cttJH)  was  offer- 
ed in  cases  where  the  sin  was  more  private,  and  confined 
to  the  individual's  knowledge.  The  sin  was  known  only 
to  the  man  himself ;  and  hence,  it  was  less  hurtful  in  its 
effects.  We  have  seen  that  chap.  v.  6,  is  no  contradic- 
tion to  this  especial  use  of  the  word,  as  ^^m  was  origin- 
ally as  general  in  its  sense  as  t^tsn ;  and  in  Isaiah  liii.  10, 
either  it  is  used  in  that  same  general  way,  or,  if  meant 
to  be  more  special,  the  sense  will  be,  "  When  thou  shalt 
make  his  soul  an  offering  for  sins.,  which  no  one  ever  saw 
him  commit ;"  for  he  had  done  no  violence,  nor  was  de- 
ceit in  his  mouth. 

The  sin-offering  being  of  a  more  public  notice  was  on 


104  THE  TRESPASS-OFFERING. 

that  account  more  fitted  to  be  the  usual  type  of  Christ's 
offering.     It  was  both  public  and  definite. 

The  trespass-offering  was  always  a  ram.  It  was  thus 
fitted  to  remind  Israel  of  Abraham's  offering  Isaac,  when 
the  ram  was  substituted.  The  blood  of  it  was  always 
put  "  on  the  sides''"'  of  the  altar ;  not  on  the  horns,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  sin-offering,  where  the  offering  was  more 
of  a  public  nature,  and  needed  to  be  held  up  to  all. 

The  cases  here  are — ' 

1.  Fraud  towards  God  in  respect  to  things  in  his  wor- 
ship. 

2.  Fraud  towards  man.  The  instances  given  are 
specimens  of  wrong  done  by  the  trespasser  to  the  first 
and  second  tables  of  the  law. 

Perhaps  it  was  too  much  for  a  frail  mortal  to  hear  the 
Lord  speak  long.  There  was  a  short  interval  between 
the  last  revelation  of  the  will  of  the  Lord,  and  this  that 
followed  it.  Silence  reigned  through  the  holy  place; 
and  under  the  beams  of  the  bright  cloud  of  glory,  Moses 
would  sit  down,  and  trace  on  his  tablets  the  directions 
just  received.  And  now  the  voice  of  the  Lord  spoke 
again — ^the  same  voice  that  afterwards  said  to  John  in 
Patmos,  "  Write  the  things  which  thou  hast  seen,  and 
the  things  which  are,  and  the  things  which  shall  be  here- 
after." It  then  declared  of  each  Church  of  Asia,  "  I 
know  thy  works.''''  It  is  the  voice  of  the  same  holy  and 
jealous,  yet  gracious  and  tender  Priest,  the  same  true 
and  faithful  Witness.     The  voice  said  : — 

Ver,  15.  *'  If  a  soul  commit  a  trespass,  and  sin  through  ignorance,  in  the 
holy  things  of  the  Lord ;  then  he  shall  bring,  for  his  trespass  unto 
the  Lord,  a  ram  without  blemish  out  of  the  flocks,  with  thy  estima- 
tion by  shekels  of  silver,  after  the  shekel  of  the  sanctuary,  for  a 
trespass-offeiing."  • 


CHAPTER  V.  105 

That  we  may  see  the  sort  of  sins  meant  here,  let  us 
refer  to  a  special  case.  The  class  of  sins  here  is  trans- 
gressions in  regard  to  the  holy  things  of  the  Lord.  Now, 
in  Ecclesiastes  v.  6,  we  have  such  a  case.  "  Suffer  not 
thy  mouth  to  cause  thy  flesh  to  sin ;  neither  say  thou 
before  the  angel,  that  it  was  an  error  (^^55^  as  here)  : 
wherefore  should  Grod  be  angry  at  thy  voice,  and  destroy 
the  work  of  thine  hands  ?"  The  wish  to  be  spoken  well 
of,  and  to  become  eminent  for  piety  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people  and  priest,  led  this  man,  while  attending  public 
worship  in  the  temple,  to  vow  with  his  lips  more  than  he 
could,  or  more  than  he  really  wished  to  give.  By  this 
rash  vow,  he  came  under  the  sin  mentioned  in  this  chap- 
ter V.  4.  But  this  is  not  all.  When  the  priest^  comes 
(see  1  Sam.  ii.  13)  to  take  his  share  of  the  offering  ac- 
cording to  the  law,  the  man  was  tempted  to  deny  that 
he  had  vowed  so  much.  And  thus  he  fell  into  the  sin  of 
trespass^  mentioned  in  v.  15  of  this  chapter,  inasmuch  as 
he  withholds  what  he  promised  to  the  house  of  Grod.  God 
will  destroy  his  prosperity,  unless  such  a  man  forthwith 
bring  the  trespass-offering.  Similar  cases  might  be 
given  ;  thus,  if  a  man  eat  the  first-fruits  (Exodus  xxxiv. 
26),  or  shear  the  first-born  sheep.  (Deut.  xv.  19.)  (Ains- 
worth.)  He  is  to  bring  "  a  ram  without  blemish  out  of 
the  flock. '''^  He  is  to  choose  one  of  the  most  valuable  of 
his  flock,  a  type  of  him  who  was  "  chosen  out  of  the 
people,"  "  one  that  was  mighty."  (Psalm  Ixxxix.  19.) 
It  was  to  be  costly ;  it  must  not  be  of  an  inferior  sort, 
but  (Deut.  xxxii.  14)  of  that  sort  which  were  "  rams  of 

*  The  angel  or  messenger  seems  to  be  the  priest  himself.  So  he  is 
called  in  Malachi  ii.  7.  And  if  so,  is  it  not  with  a  reference  to  the  jealous 
angel  in  Exodus  xxxii.  3i  ?  The  priest  is  his  representative,  presiding 
over  the  temple. 

0* 


106  THE  TEESP ASS-OFFERING-. 

the  breed  of  Bashan."  The  priest  is  to  estimate  the  value 
according  to  the  standard  of  the  sanctuary.  Probably 
we  are  hereby  taught  the  costliness  of  the  Redeemer's 
offering. 

Consider  the  "  estimation."  It  was  not  every  offering 
that  will  answer  the  great  end;  it  must  be  a  costly, 
precious  offering — the  precious  blood  of  the  Son  of  G-od. 
(2  Pet.  i.  19.)  "Who  can  tell  how  high  it  was  estimated 
in  the  sanctuary  above,  where  not  one  spot  of  sin  ever 
found  a  rest  in  the  most  secret  heart  of  one  ministering 
spirit  ?  The  question  is  asked.  Is  this  one  offering  suf- 
ficient for  the  sinner  ?  The  Holy  One  applies  the  test  of 
his  law,  and  measures  it  by  his  own  holy  nature,  and 
finds  it  such  that  he  declares,  "  I  am  well  pleased ;"  "I 
lay  in  Zion  a  tried  stone ;"  *'  He  hath  magnified  the  law, 
and  made  it  honorable." 

But,  2.  Was  it  such  as  reached  the  case  of  others  ? 
Yes ;  it  was  meant  for  others.  He  who  wrought  it  out 
was  a  surety.  His  body  was  "  prepared"  for  the  sake  of 
others.  His  eye  ran  down  with  tears  for  others.  The 
words,  such  as  never  man  spake,  were  for  others.  ''  He 
suffered,  the  just  for  the  unjust." 

3.  But  may  I  use  it  ?  Yes ;  not  only  you  may^  but 
you  must  use  it  or  perish. 

Ver.  16.  "  And  he  shall  make  amends  for  the  harm  that  he  hath  done  in 
the  holy  thing,  and  shall  add  the  fifth  part  thereto,  and  give  it  unto 
the  priest :  and  the  priest  shall  make  an  atonement  for  him  with 
the  ram  of  the  trespass-offering,  and  it  shall  be  forgiven  him." 

The  trespasser  is  to  be  no  gainer  by  defrauding  Grod's 
house.  He  is  to  suffer,  even  in  temporal  things,  as  a 
punishment  for  his  sin.  He  is  to  bring,  in  addition  to 
the  thing  of  which  he  defrauded  Grod,  money  to  the  ex- 


CHAPTER  V.  107 

tent  of  one  fifth  of  the  value  of  the  thing.  This  was 
given  to  the  priest  as  the  head  of  the  people  in  things  of 
God,  and  representative  of  God  in  holy  duties.  It  was 
to  be  a  double  tithe  because  of  the  attempt  to  defraud 
God.*  We  shall  never  be  gainers  by  stinting  our  time 
and  service  in  the  worship  of  God.  What  we  withdraw 
from  him,  he  will  withdraw  from  us  in  another  way. 
Besides,  the  very  fact  of  cherishing  such  an  idea  in  our 
minds  will  cause  the  Lord  to  veil  his  grace  and  glory 
from  our  view  until  we  have  anew  sought  him  by  the 
blood  of  Jesus.  And  in  the  mean  time  the  sorrow  and 
darkness  of  our  heart  will  teach  us  that  it  is  a  bitter 
thing  to  depart  from  the  Lord. 

But  there  is  something  in  this  part  of  the  ordinance 
far  more  significant  still.  It  seems  to  exhibit  the  re- 
quirements of  God  in  order  to  a  true  atonement.  Atone- 
ment must  consist — 

1.  Of  restitution  of  the  principle — restoring  all  that 
was  lost.  The  injury  done  is  to  be  made  up  by  the 
person  submitting  to  give  back  every  item  he  took  away. 

2.  Of  the  addition  of  more.  There  must  be  also  a 
making  up  of  the  wrong  done,  by  the  person  suffering 
loss,  as  a  recompense  for  the  evil.  In  these  two  pro- 
visions, do  we  not  see  set  forth  in  symbol  the  great  fact 
that  God  in  atonement  must  get  back  all  the  honor  that 
his  law  lost  for  a  time  by  man's  fraud ;  and  also  must 
have  the  honor  of  his  law  farther  vindicated  by  the  pay- 
ment of  an  amount  of  suffering  ?  The  active  obedience 
of  Christ  gave  the  one ;  his  passive  obedience  provided 
the  other. 

*  The  tithe  regularly  paid  was  an  acknowledgment  that  God  had  a  right 
to  the  things  tithed ;  and  this  double  tithe  was  an  acknowledgment  that  in  con- 
sequence of  this  attempt  to  defraud  him,  his  right  must  be  doubly  admitted. 


108  THE  TRESPASS-OFFERING. 

These  principles  being  thus  set  forth  and  agreed  to,  the 
ram  was  brought  forward  wherein  was  exhibited  the 
person  that  was  to  be  the  giver  of  atonement.  A  ram 
''out  of  the  flock,"  even  as  Christ  was  "one  chosen  out 
of  the  people."     (Ps.  Ixxxix.  19.) 

Ver.  1*7.  "  And  if  a  soul  sin,  and  commit  any  of  these  things  which  are 
forbidden  to  be  done  by  the  commandments  of  the  Lord  :  though 
he  wist  it  not,  yet  is  he  guilty,  and  shall  bear  his  iniquity." 

This  is  a  remarkable  passage  in  proof  of  the  awful  sin 
that  may  be  committed  through  ignorance,  "  Though  he 
loist  it  not,  yet  is  he  guilty^  Knowledge  was  within 
his  reach  in  this  case ;  for  the  things  spoken  of  are 
matters  connected  with  sanctuary  worship.  It  is  even 
such  a  case  as  Paul's,  whose  ignorance  was  no  excuse 
for  his  sin,  since  he  might  have  inquired  and  known.* 

The  cases  referred  to  here  are  evidently  those  wherein 
holy  things,  or  tilings  connected  with  luorship,  were  neg- 
lected or  defectively  performed.  It  is  that  class  of  cases 
wherein — it  may  be  through  ignorance — the  Lord  was 
defrauded  of  what  was  due  in  his  worship. 

Vers,  18,  19.  "  And  he  shall  bring  a  ram  without  blemish  out  of  the 
flock,  with  thy  estimation,  for  a  trespass-offering,  unto  the  priest ; 
and  the  priest  shall  make  an  atonement  for  him  concerning  his 
ignorance  wherein  he  erred  and  wist  it  not,  and  it  shall  be  forgiven 
him.  It  is  a  trespass-offering :  he  hath  certainly  trespassed  against 
tlie  Lord." 

How  emphatic  is  the  rehearsal  of  his  sin,  "  atonement 
for  him  concerning  his  ignorance  wherein  he  erred  and 

*  Evidently  in  1  Tim.  i.  13,  we  are  to  read  thus,  "  Putting  me  into  the 
ministry,  who  was  before  a  blasphemer,  and  a  persecutor,  and  injm-ious, 
though  I  obtained  mercy.  For  I  did  all  this  ignorantly  in  mibehef,"  q.  d., 
for  my  ignorance  and  unbelief  (both  equally  inexcusable)  led  me  to  these 
excesses. 


CHAPTER  VI.  109 

wist  it  not;"  and  again,  "  he  hath  certainly  trespassed 
against  the  Lord  ;"  though  men  would  have  been  ready 
to  treat  it  as  a  lis^ht  matter. 

Israel  was  thus  shut  up  to  the  solemn  duty  of  in- 
quiring into  the  Lord's  revealed  will.  By  treating  igno- 
rance as  a  sin  of  such  magnitude,  the  Lord  made  provision 
among  his  people  for  securing  a  thorough  and  continual 
search  into  his  mind  and  will ;  and  thus,  no  doubt,  family 
instruction  was  universal  in  every  tent  in  the  wilderness, 
and  the  nation  were  an  intelligent  as  well  as  a  peculiar 
people. 


4- 
CHAPTER  VI. 

Ver.  1.     "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying." 

There  was  silence  again  in  the  holy  place,  until  Moses 
had  recorded  the  above  precepts  bearing  on  Jehovah's 
own  special  worship.  And  when  these  trespasses  against 
the  first  table  of  the  law  had  been  declared  and  marked, 
the  voice  of  the  Lord  was  again  heard.  We  may  recog- 
nize the  same  voice  that  spoke  on  the  mountain  of  Galilee  ; 
for  here  is  the  same  principle  of  broad,  holy  exactness  in 
applying  the  law  as  in  Matt.  v.  The  mind  of  the  Father 
and  of  his  Son  is  one  and  the  same  as  to  the  extent  of 
the  law,  even  as  it  is  alike  in  love  to  the  transgressor. 

Vers,  2,  3.  "  If  a  soul  sin  and  commit  a  trespass  against  the  Lord,  and 
lie  imto  his  neighbor  in  that  which  was  delivered  him  to  keep,  or  in 
fellowship,  or  in  a  thing  taken  away  by  violence,  or  hath  deceived 
his  neighbor ;  or  hath  found  that  which  was  lost,  and  lieth  con- 
cerning it,  and  sweareth  falsely ;  in  any  of  all  these  that  a  man 
doeth,  sinnbg  therein." 


110  THE  TRESPASS-OFFEEING-. 

Here  is  a  specimen  selected  of  the  common  forms  in 
which  defrauding  others  may  occur.  There  is  first  a 
temptation  mentioned,  to  which  friends  are  exposed  with 
one  another  in  private  intercourse.  A  man  asks  his 
friend  to  keep  something  for  him ;  or  in  the  wider  accep- 
tation of  the  original  term,  "iiii^s  gives  a  neighbor  a 
trust  to  manage  for  him  of  any  kind,  or  commits  to  his 
care  for  the  time,  any  article.  The  Sept.  have  used  the 
word  ^^naga6i]iC7]^^^  whicli,  in  2  Tim.  i.  12,  is  rendered, 
^^  what  I  have  committed  to  himP  Anything  lent  to 
another  is  included ;  a  tool,  like  the  Prophet's  borrowed 
axe  (2  Kings  vi.  5),  or  a  sum  of  money  left  in  a  neigh- 
bor's keeping  (Exod.  xxii.  7);  in  short,  any  "stuff" 
(Exod.  xxii.  7),  or  articles  (ts'^bs).  A  lent  book,  or  bor- 
rowed umbrella,  would  come  under  this  law  ;  and  how 
few  have  the  sincere  honesty  of  that  son  of  the  prophets, 
in  2  Kings  vi.  5,  vexed  because  the  thing  injured  in  their 
hands  was  a  borrowed  thing  ! — "  Alas  !  my  master,  for  it 
was  borrowed  !"  The  Lord  expects,  in  such  case,  com- 
plete disinterestedness  ;  the  man  is  to  do  to  others  as  he 
would  have  others  do  to  him.  Any  denial  of  having  re- 
ceived the  thing,  any  appropriation  of  it  to  himself,  any 
carelessness  in  the  keeping  of  it,  is  a  trespass  in  the  eye  of 
God.  You  have  wronged  G-od  in  wronging  your  neigh- 
bor. 

The  case  of  ^'fellowships''''  or  partnership,  refers  to  the 
transactions  of  public  life ;  not,  however,  to  openly  un- 
lawful acts,  but  to  acts  lawful  in  appearance,  while 
selfish  in  reality.  This  points  specially  to  business-trans- 
actions, where  there  ought  to  be  the  utmost  disinterest- 
edness, one  partner  giving  more  scrupulous  attention  to 
the  interests  of  the  other  than  to  his  own,  mortifying  his 
jealous  self-love  by  his  regard  to  his  partner's  concerns. 


CHAPTER  VI.  Ill 

This  is  the  generous  morality  of  the  God  of  Israel.  The 
same  head  would  include  the  conscientious  observances 
of  government  regulations  or  commercial  laws,  as  to 
taxes  on  goods.  These  regulations  being  understood 
principles  on  which  trade  is  carried  on,  are  really  of  the 
nature  of  "  fellowship."  So,  also,  bargains  in  trade. 
But,  alas !  not  many  are  so  jealous  as  Abraham  in  Gen. 
xxiii.,  to  avoid  even  the  appearance  of  wronging  others. 
Most  are  as  Prov.  xx.  14. 

"  A  thing'  taken  by  violence, ^^  includes  cases  of 
oppression  or  hardship,  where  mere  power  deals  with 
weakness.  Such  was  Naboth's  case,  1  Kings  xxi.  2 ; 
such  was  Isaac's,  Gen.  xxvi.  4. 

"  Or  hath  deceived  his  neighbor. ^^  The  word  pt^^  is 
rightly  rendered,  in  the  Septuagint,  r^di^jjos.  It  speaks 
of  another  form  of  oppression — "  hath  deceitfully  op- 
pressed." There  are  cases  of  strong,  but  secret  terror, 
as  when  a  landlord  uses  his  pecuniary  superiority  to 
constrain  a  tenant's  vote,  or  force  a  dependent  to  attend 
a  particular  place  of  worship.  It  exists,  too,  where  a 
mistress  thoughtlessly  gives  too  much  work  to  her  ser- 
vants, or  where  a  farmer  exacts  unceasing  labor,  from 
morning  to  night,  at  the  hands  of  his  ploughmen,  or 
where  a  shopkeeper's  business  is  carried  on  at  such  a 
rate  that  his  apprentices  have  no  calm  rest  of  body  or 
soul.  In  another  shape,  a  Jew  was  guilty  of  this  tres- 
pass if,  in  using  the  permission  (Deut.  xxiii.  24,  25)  to 
pluck  grapes,  or  ears  of  corn,  as  he  passed  his  neighbor's 
grounds,  he  took  more  than  he  would  have  done  had  he 
been  in  his  own  vineyard  or  corn-fields. 

"  Or  hath  found  that  which  was  lost,  and  lieth  con- 
cerning ity  Unconcerned  at  the  anxiety  it  may  have 
given  to  the  loser,  the  man  refuses  to  part  with  what  he 


112  THE  TRESPASS-OFFERING. 

lias  found.  This  is  surely  selfishness  in  the  extreme. 
But  it  is  so,  alsoj  if  the  finder  is  not  willing  to  hear  of 
an  owner,  glad  only  at  his  own  advantage,  and  saying, 
*'  The  owner  may  never  miss  it — G-od  has  thrown  it  into 
my  hands."  The  Lord  teaches  us  not  to  build  up  our 
joy  on  the  loss  or  sorrow  of  others. 

Such  is  the  kind  care  of  the  G-od  of  Israel.  Is  he 
not  still  "  the  eagle"  over  them,  stirring  up  her  nest  and 
fluttering  over  her  young  ?  He  teaches  his  family  to  be 
fall  of  love — superiors,  inferiors,  equals.  He  would 
infuse  the  holy  feelings  of  heaven  into  the  camp  of 
Israel.  Truly,  society  regulated  by  the  Lord  is  blessed 
society,  for  his  own  love  flows  through  it  all,  and  is  the 
very  joints  and  bands.  Hence  it  is  that  a  sin  against  a 
neighbor,  in  one  of  these  points,  is  a  "  trespass  against 
the  Lord.''''  (ver.  1.)  The  selfish  man  is  an  unholy  man, 
altosfether  unlike  G-od.  Yet  earth  is  full  of  such.  When 
men  are  happy  themselves  they  take  no  thought  of 
others'  misery.  When  at  ease,  they  disregard  the  pain 
of  others.  Some  even  relieve  distress  out  of  subtle  sel- 
fishness, seeking  thereby  to  be  free  to  indulge  themselves 
with  less  compunction.  Not  so  the  Lord.  The  Eternal 
Son  comes  forth  from  the  bosom  of  the  blessed,  and  for 
the  sake  of  the  vilest  dives  into  the  depths  of  misery. 
"He  restored  what  he  took  not  away,"  and  ''delivered 
him  that  without  cause  was  his  enemy."  And  in  pro- 
portion as  we  feel  much  of  this  love  of  G-od  to  us,  we 
shall  feel  much  love  to  him,  and  to  our  brother  also.  (1 
John  iv.  20.) 

Vers.  4,  5.  "  Then  it  shall  be,  because  he  hath  sinned,  and  is  guilty, 
that  he  shall  restore  that  which  he  took  violently  away,  or  the  thing 
which  he  hath  deceitfully  gotten,  or  that  which  was  delivered  him 
to  keep,  or  the  lost  thing  which  he  found,  or  all  that  about  which 


CHAPTEE  VI.  113 

he  hath  s-worn  falsely ;  he  shall  even  restore  it  in  the  principal,  and 
shall  add  the  fifth  part  more  thereto,  and  give  it  unto  him  to  whom 
it  appertaineth,  in  the  day  of  his  trespass-ofifering." 


Patrick  renders  ver.  4,  "If  he  sin  and  acknowledge 
his  guilt ;"  for  if  his  case  were  one  where  witnesses  con- 
victed him,  then  Exod.  xxii.  7-9,  held  good.  The  case 
of  Zaccheus,  on  the  day  of  his  coming  to  Jesus  ("  the 
day  of  his  trespass-offering"  surely),  illustrates  this 
restitution  as  an  attendant  upon  forgiveness.  When  the 
Lord  forgave  him,  the  same  Lord  also  inclined  him  to 
restore  what  he  had  unjustly  taken,  and  to  give  back 
far  more  than  he  had  taken. 

The  fifth  part  is  given,  in  addition  to  the  principal, 
just  as  in  the  case  of  holy  things  being  fraudulently 
withheld.  It  is  a  double  tithe  (two  tenths)  and  so  is 
equivalent  to  a  double  acknoivledgment  of  the  person's 
right  to  the  thing,  of  which  he  had  been,  for  a  time, 
unjustly  deprived.     See  chap.  v.  15,  16. 

No  doubt  this  exceeding  jealousy  on  the  part  of  Grod 
in  maintaining  the  rights  of  men,  and  exhibiting  such 
strict  equity,  was  intended  to  display  to  the  world  what 
his  own  holy  character  is.  The  most  impartial  and 
extensive  justice  is  here  exhibited.  And  his  demand  for 
restitution  shows  that  the  Lord  will  maintain  his 
violated  rights  to  the  uttermost.  It  further  proves,  that 
while  he  requires  (as  John  did,  Luke  iii.  8,  10-14) 
repentance  and  amendment,  still  it  is  not  these  that  in 
any  degree  satisfy  the  Lord ;  for  there  is,  in  addition  to 
the  restoring  of  the  principal,  a  new  demand  by  the  law, 
for  the  very  act  of  attempting  to  defraud  it — one  fifth 
part  beyond  the  former  demand  !  Thus  was  Israel  pre- 
pared for  an  awful  enforcement  of  Divine  claims  in  the 
person  of  Immanuel ;  and  thus  were  they  shown  what 


114  THE  TRESPASS-OFFERING. 

must  be  the  infinite  merit  of  him  who  should  be  able  to 
restore  all  that  had  been  taken  away  from  his  Gfod  ! 

Vers.  6,  7.  "  And  he  shall  bring  his  trespass-oflfering  unto  the  Lord,  a 
ram  without  blemish  out  of  the  flock,  with  thy  estimation,  for  a 
trespass-offering,  unto  the  priest:  and  the  priest  shall  make  an 
atonement  for  him  before  the  Lord :  and  it  shall  be  forgiven  him 
for  anything  of  all  that  he  hath  done  in  trespassing  therein." 

"i^or  any  of  all  the  things''' — thus  proclaiming  that 
"  the  blood  of  Jesus  cleanseth  from  all  sin."  The  case 
of  presumptuous  sins  is  not  referred  to  here,  for  these 
involved  a  disregard,  in  the  offender,  to  the  very  offer- 
ings that  could  exhibit  pardon  to  his  conscience.  But 
this  section  ends  with  the  proclamation  of  free  forgive- 
ness from  all  manner  of  sin.  The  Lord  would  thus  at 
once  allure  the  sinner  from  his  transgression,  and  lead 
him  to  the  immediate  joy  of  reconciliation.  It  is  the 
surest  and  speediest  way  to  lead  him  out  of  his  former 
path  of  guilt.  "  There  is  forgiveness  with  thee  that 
thou  mayest  be  feared." 

With  Israel,  as  with  us,  there  were  many  who  saw  no 
meaning  or  reason  in  God's  appointments.  Want  of 
true  conviction  of  sin  made  them  despise  these  types, 
while  the  godly,  who  felt  their  loins  filled  with  a 
grievous  disease,  found  therein  their  daily  refreshment. 
This  is  the  true  sense  of  Prov.  xiv.  9,  when  properly 
rendered.  "  Fools  make  a  mock  of  the  trespass-offer- 
ings hut  with  the  righteous  it  is  in  esteem:^  The 
Septuagint  seems  to  have  had  a  glance  at  this  meaning, 
for  they  use  "  xa(9a^/a^og''  for  dtijx,  and  they  render  ')i:r'i, 
'«  demog:^  The  godly  cherished  these  typical  delineations 
of  atonement,  while  the  careless,  earthly-minded  Israelite 
saw  nothing  in  them  to  desire.  None  go  to  the  hiding- 
place  who  fear  no  storm.     The  stream  flows  by  un- 


CHAPTER  VI.  115 

heeded  when  the  traveller  on  its  banks  is  not  thirsty. 
The  whole  will  not  use  the  physician.  Sense  of  sin 
renders  Jesus  precious  to  the  soul.  How  Peter  loved 
the  risen  Saviour  who  relieved  him  of  the  load  of  his 
denial !  A  sight  of  wrath  to  come  gives  a  new  aspect 
to  every  spiritual  thing.  In  Egypt,  a  sight  of  the 
destroying-angel's  sword  would  make  Israel  prize  the 
blood.  Ishmael  might  have  mocked  at  the  ram  caught 
in  the  thicket ;  but  not  so  Isaac,  who  had  been  bound 
with  the  cords  of  death.  It  is  only  "  fools"  that  will 
"  mock  at  the  trespass-offering  ;"  with  the  righteous  it  is 
held  in  unspeakable  esteem.  Their  song  is,  "  Thanks 
be  unto  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift !" 


pnial  tlnitB  hx  iijt  ^huBU 

WHO  MINISTER  AT  THE  ALTAR  OF  GOD. 


"  GOD  .  .  .  HATH  RKCONCILED  US  TO  HIMSELF  BY  JESUS  CHRIST,  AND  HATH 
GIVEN  TO  US  THE  MINISTRY  OF  RECONCILIATION,  FOR  HE  HATH  MADE  HIM  TO 
BE  SIN  FOR  US,  WHO  KNEW  NO  SIN  ;  THAT  WE  MIGHT  BE  MADE  THE  RIGHTEOUS- 
NESS OF  GOD  IN  HIM." — 2  Cor.  V.  18,  21. 


CHAPTER  YI.— Continued. 

REGARDING  THE  WHOLE  BURNT-OFFERING. 

Vers.  8,  9.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying.  Command  Aaron 
and  his  sons,  saying,  This  is  the  law  of  the  burnt-offering :  It  is  the 
burnt-offering,  because  of  the  burning  upon  the  altar  all  night  unto 
the  morning,  and  the  fire  of  the  altar  shall  be  burning  in  it." 

The  ground  traversed  over  in  chapters  i.,  ii.,  iii.,  iv.,  v., 
is  now  retraversed,  but  for  a  quite  different  object.  Sup- 
plemental directions  to  the  priests,  in  regard  to  their  part 
in  the  offering  of  the  sacrifices,  is  the  object  in  view. 
But  this  gives  opportunity  for  the  typifying  of  some  most 
important  truths. 

"  The  law  of  the  burnt-offering,''''  or  of  things  to  be 
observed  in  offering  it,  is  first  stated.  Perhaps,  in  ver.  9, 
we  should  read  the  parenthesis  thus — "  As  for  the  burnt- 
offering,  it  is  to  be  burning^^  on  the  altar  all  night  until 

*  Horsley  renders  JTlpliQ  bi\  "  upon  the  burning  fuel ;"  and  others  to 
the  same  effect.    See  Ainswortfi. 


CHAPTER  VI.  117 

the  morning ;  and  the  fire  of  the  altar  must  be  kept  burn- 
ing on  it."  However,  retaining  our  rendering,  we  have 
the  fact,  that  the  fire  must  be  kept  burning  the  whole 
night  long. 

The  Holy  One  speaks  again  from  the  holy  place.  He 
now  tells  some  of  the  more  awful  thoughts  of  his  soul. 
His  words  reveal  views  of  sin  and  righteousness  that 
appear  overwhelmingly  awful  to  men.  His  eternal  jus- 
tice, flaming  forth  against  all  iniquity,  is  declared  to 
Israel  in  the  fire  of  the  altar.  This  fire  is  never  to  be  ex- 
tinguished ;  "for  everyone  of  his  righteous  judgments 
endureth  forever."  (Ps.  cxix.  160.)  It  burns  all  night 
long — an  emblem  of  the  sleeplessness  of  hell,  where 
"they  have  no  rest,  day  nor  night" — and  of  the  ever- 
watchful  eye  of  righteousness  that  looks  down  on  this 
earth. 

Perhaps  it  was  intended  to  exhibit  two  things  : 

1.  "  The  smoke  of  their  torment  ascendeth  up  forever 

and  ever tormented  with  fire  and  brimstone  in 

presence  of  the  holy  angels,  and  in  the  presence  of  the 
Lamb."  (Rev.  xiv.  10,  compared  with  ver.  18.)  The 
whole  camp  saw  this  fire,  burning  in  the  open  court  all 
night  long.  "  So  shall  you  perish,"  might  an  Israelitish 
father  say  to  his  children,  taking  them  to  his  tent  door, 
and  pointing  them,  in  the  gloom  and  silence  of  night,  to 
the  altar,  "  So  shall  you  perish,  and  be  forever  in  the 
flames,  unless  you  repent  I" 

2.  It  exhibited,  also,  the  way  of  escape.  See,  there  is 
a  victim  on  the  altar,  on  which  these  flames  feed  !  Here 
is  Christ  in  our  room.  His  suffering,  seen  and  accepted 
by  the  Father,  was  held  forth  continually  to  the  faith  of 
Israel,  night  and  day.  And  upon  that  type,  the  pledge 
and  token  of  the  real  sacrifice,  did  the  eye  of  the  Father 


118  SPECIAL  RULES  FOR  THE  PRIESTS. 

delight  to  rest  niglit  and  day.  It  pleased  him  well  to  see 
his  justice  and  his  love  thus  met  together  there.  And 
the  man  of  Israel,  who  understood  the  type,  slept  in  peace, 
sustained  by  this  truth  which  the  struggling  rays  from 
the  altar  gleamed  into  his  tent. 

Ver.  10.  "  And  the  priest  shall  put  on  his  linen  garment,  and  his  linen 
breeches  shall  be  put  upon  his  flesh,  and  take  up  the  ashes  which 
the  fire  hath  consumed  with  the  burnt-ojffering  on  the  altar,  and  he 
shall  put  them  beside  the  altar." 

The  linen*  garment  is  the  type  of  purity,  as  we  see  in 
the  book  of  Revelation  xix.  8.  The  priest  is  the  emblem 
of  the  Redeemer  in  his  perfect  purity  coming  to  the  work 
of  atonement.  The  word  for  garment!  means  a  suit  of 
clothes.  It  takes  in  the  linen  breeches,  as  well  as  all  the 
other  parts  of  the  priest's  dress.  His  whole  suit  is  to  be 
the  garb  of  purity.  It  is  not  glory ;  these  are  not  the 
"  golden  garments."  It  is  holy  humanity ;  it  is  Jesus  in 
humiliation,  but  without  one  stain  of  sin.  There  is  a 
special  reason  for  the  direction  as  to  the  linen  breeches. 
It  is  meant  to  denote  the  completeness  of  the  purity  that 
clothes  him  ;  it  clothes  him  to  his  very  skin,  and  "  covers 
the  flesh  of  his  nakedness."  (Exod.  xxviii.  42.)  It  was 
not  only  our  unrighteousness,  and  our  corrupt  nature, 
that  Jesus  was  free  from ;  but  also  from  that  other  part 
of  our  original  sin  which  consists  in  the  imputed  guilt 
of  Adam.  The  linen  breeches  that  "  covered  the  naked- 
ness" of  the  priest,  lead  us  back  at  once  to  our  first 
parents'  sin,  when  they  were  naked  and  ashamed  in  the 
garden,  after  the  Fall.    Here  we  see  this  sin  also  covered. 

*  The  word  is  "n^  not  ;i3^i3.  The  latter  is  a  finer  sort,  supposed  to  be 
eUk. 

t  "iXJj  the  i  in  which,  in  the  opinion  of  Ewald,  is  merely  the  sign  of  the 
Status  Constr.,  as  in  lYi^n. 


CHAPTER  VI.  119 

He  who  comes  to  atone  for  all  our  sins  has  himself  free- 
dom from  all — completely  pure. 

"  He  shall  take  up  the  ashes  which  the  fire  has  coU' 
sumed^''  i.  e.,  the  ashes  of  that  which  the  fire  has  con- 
sumed^ viz.,  the  wood.  By  the  figure  which  gramma- 
rians call  ellipsis,  or  breviloquence,  ''  ashes"^^  is  used  for 
the  material  out  of  which  ashes  came,  as  Isa.  xlvii.  2, 
speaks  of  grinding  "  meal."  (Ainsworth.)  The  wood 
was  underneath  the  burnt-offering.*  This  being  done, 
the  ashes  were  to  be  placed  by  themselves,  for  a  little 
time,  ''  beside  the  altar P  All  eyes  would  thus  see  them 
and  take  notice  of  them,  before  they  were  carried  out 
into  a  clean  place. 

Probably  there  were  two  reasons  for  this  action. 

1.  The  fire  was  thus  kept  clear  and  bright,  the  ashes 
being  removed.  God  thereby  taught  them  that  he  was  not 
careless  as  to  this  matter,  but  required  that  the  type  of  his 
justice  should  be  kept  full  and  unobscured. 

2.  The  ashes  were  shown  for  the  purpose  of  making 
it  manifest  that  the  flame  had  not  spared  the  victim,  but 
had  turned  it  into  ashes.  It  was  not  a  mere  threatening 
when  the  angels  foretold  that  Sodom  and  Gromorrah  were 
to  be  destroyed  for  their  sins ;  their  doom  (2  Pet.  ii.  6)  is 
declared  to  have  come  on  them,  "  turning  them  to  ashes." 
So  here,  all  that  was  threatened  is  fulfilled.  There  the 
ashes  lie  ;  any  eye  may  see  them.  The  vengeance  has 
been  accomplished  !  The  sacrifice  is  turned  into  ashes  ! 
Justice  has  found  its  object  I  The  lightning  has  struck 
the  lightning-rod,  and  is  now  passed !  View  Ps.  xx.  4, 
in  this  light — "  Remember  all  thy  offerings  and  accept" — 

*  Another  rendering  is,  "  The  ashes  of  the  fire  that  has  consumed  the 
burnt-offering  on  the  altar."  (Horsley.)  But  this  requires  a  transposition 
of  the  words. 


120  SPECIAL  EULES  FOR  THE  PRIESTS. 

turn  to  ashes — "  thy  burnt-sacrifice."  The  Lord's  arrows 
are  not  pointless  ;  he  performs  all  his  threatenings,  for  he 
is  holy.  "  0  Lord  G-od  of  hosts,  who  is  a  strong  Lord 
like  unto  thee  ?  or  to  thy  faithfulness  round  about  thee  V 
(Ps.  Ixxxix.  8.) 

Ver.  11.  "And  he  shall  put  off  his  garments,  and  put  on  other  gar- 
ments, and  carry  forth  the  ashes  without  the  camp  unto  a  clean 
place." 

The  priest,  coming  out  of  the  sanctuary,  lays  aside 
these  linen  garments,  and  goes  forth  out  of  the  camp  in 
another  dress.  These  linen  garments  are  now  reckoned 
polluted  ;  the  sin  he  carried  in  with  him  cleaves  to  them. 
In  another  linen  dress,  therefore — another  priestly  suit^ — 
he  goes  on  to  the  spot  where  the  ashes  were  to  be  left, 
as  memorials  of  the  curse  having  come  on  the  victim. 
May  this  be  intended  to  show  that  Christ,  specially  at 
his  death,  was  to  be  "  numbered  with  the  transgressors  ?" 
He  seemed  to  die  as  one  who  had  no  holiness,  no  right- 
eousness, no  innocence.  "  He  made  his  grave  ivith  the 
wickedy  But,  casting  off  this  appearance  of  being  a 
transgressor,  as  he  cries,  "  It  is  finished,"  he  is  carried 
to  a  clean  spot.  His  surety-character  appeared — he  is 
buried  in  Joseph's  tomb.t 

*  Some  think  this  must  have  been  a  dress  of  meaner  materials  than 
the  linen,  to  represent  sin  cleaving  to  him.  But  where  do  we  ever  read  of 
such  ? 

f  Some  propose  to  change  the  rendering  of  Isa.  liii.  9,  in  order  to  bring 
out  explicitly  the  fact  that  Christ  died  among  transgressors,  but  was  buried 
with  the  rich.  But  is  there  any  ground  for  this  proposed  change  ? 
Whether  the  original  admits  of  it,  is  doubtful ;  for  few  Jews  will  be  satis- 
fied with  the  rendering  of  lini^is.  " his  tomb"  Would  it  not  be  better,  far, 
to  keep  the  present  much  more  obvious  rendering — 

"  He  made  his  grave  xoith  the  wicked  (plural), 

And  with  the  rich  (singular),  in  his  death,"  i.  e.,  when  he  died. 


CHAPTEK  VI.  121 

"  Unto  a  clean  place ;"  as  in  chap  iv.  12.  In  after 
days  this  clean  place  may  have  been  some  spot  beyond 
the  walls  of  Jerusalem.  In  Jer.  xxxi.  40,  "  the  valley 
of  the  ashes*''  is  mentioned  ;  a  place  which  was  used  for 
this  purpose,  and  may  have  been  at  the  very  Calvary 
where  the  Grreat  Sacrifice  was  offered  and  its  ashes  laid. 

Ver.  12.  "  And  the  fire  upon  the  altar  shall  be  burning  in  it  (i.  e.,  on 
the  bosom  of  the  altar ;)  it  shall  not  be  put  out :  and  the  priest 
shall  burn  wood  on  it  every  morning,  and  lay  the  burnt-offering  in 
order  upon  it ;  and  he  shall  burn  thereon  the  fat  of  the  peace- 
offerings." 

At  the  hour  of  his  death,  behold  the  providence  of  God !  A  rich  man, 
one  of  the  most  honorable  and  esteemed  in  Jerusalem,  a  member  of  San- 
hedrim, and  a  disciple,  unexpectedly  appears  at  Calvary,  This  was  Joseph 
of  Arimathea,  without  exception  the  most  singularly  noble  character 
introduced  to  us  in  the  Gospels.  This  rich  man  had  been  driven  irito  con- 
cealment by  the  plots  formed  against  him  by  the  Jews,  on  account  of  his 
defending  Jesus  in  the  Sanhedrim  openly.  (Luke  xxiii.  51.)  This  is 
what  John  says,  chap.  xix.  38.  "  Being  a  disciple,"  "KSKpv^juvos  Sc  Sia  rdu 
<p6(Sov  Tiov  lov6aiwv"  —  not  "  SECRETLY,"  for  it  is  not  "  KZKpmnvas^^  though 
even  the  adverb  might  mean,  as  in  the  Septuagint  of  Jer.  xiii.  17,  "in 
secret  places,'^  but  "  secreted"  or  forced  to  hide  by  reason  of  their  plots. 
He  was  the  very  contrast  to  timid  Nicodemus,  bold  and  unreserved.  Be- 
hold !  then,  this  man  suddenly  returns  to  the  city  ;  and  finding  that  all  is 
over,  he  boldly  seeks  the  body  of  Jesus,  his  beloved  master.  And  next, 
he  and  Nicodemus — two  rich  men,  but  the  one  all  boldness,  the  other 
nervously  timid — lay  the  body  in  its  silent  tomb.  And  where  is  the  tomb  ? 
"  In  the  place  where  he  was  crucified"  (John  xix.  41) ;  that  is,  at  the  very 
spot  where  criminals  were  put  to  death,  and  where  they  used  to  be  buried. 
Extraordinary  as  it  may  appear,  this  very  spot  was  the  spot  where  Jbsi?p7i's 
new  tomb  was  hewn  out  of  a  rock  !  The  stony  sides  of  the  tomb — the  new 
tomb — "  the  clean  place"  where  Jesus  was  laid — were  part  of  the  male- 
factors' hill?  His  dead  body  is  "w?7A  the  rich  man  and  with  the  wicked" 
in  the  hour  of  his  death !  His  grave  is  the  property  of  a  rich  man ;  and 
yet  the  rocks  which  form  the  partition  between  his  tomb  and  that  of  the 
other  Calvary  malefactors,  are  themselves  part  of  Golgotha.  Is  there  not 
here  a  fulfilment  of  Isaiah's  words  to  the  letter,  and  that  in  a  way  so  un- 
likely, that  no  eye  could  have  foreseen  it  but  bis  who  foreordained  the 
whole  ? 

6 


122  SPECIAL  RULES  FOR  THE  PRIESTS. 

Formerly  the  fact  was  mentioned  of  the  fire  never 
being  allowed  to  go  out.  Here  there  is  mention  made  of 
the  manner  in  which  it  was  kept  burning.  The  wood 
was  to  be  supplied  constantly  in  sufficient  measure,  and 
the  sacrifice  laid  thereon.  There  is  an  object  for  the 
Divine  justice  to  seize  upon;  and  this  victim  must  be 
shown  every  morning,  exposed  to  that  intolerable  flame. 
Christ  bears  the  vehement  heat  of  Jehovah's  altar — the 
reality  of  wrath. 

There  is  no  ^^ putting  ouV  of  this  fire.^  ''The^re  is 
not  quenched,''''  is  Christ's  own  expression ;  perhaps  in 
reference  to  this  type.  (Mark  ix.  44.)  There  will  be  no 
putting  out  of  these  flames  in  eternity — no  waters  to 
quench  them — no  interference  of  God's  mercy  to  end 
them.  The  company  of  their  ungodly  friends  will  not 
*'  put  out"  any  of  the  torments  of  the  damned  ;  nor  shall 
any  intellectual  efforts  "put  them  out"  by  keeping  men 
busy  in  their  thoughts.  Christ's  agony  is  the  proof  of  this. 
If  ever  God  would  have  "  put  out"  one  flame,  it  would 
have  been  in  his  case.  Yet  he  withheld  no  suffering — 
''  all  his  waves"  were  against  him  ;  he  laid  him  in  "  the 
lowest  pit." 

Perhaps  "  burn  the  fat  of  the  peace-offerings'''  is  intro- 
duced here  to  show  how  the  flame  was  to  be  fed.  The 
fat  must  feed  it  till  it  blazes  bright  and  strong,  casting  its 
light  through  the  darkness,  in  view  of  all  the  camp.     It 

*  In  Song  viii.  6,  "  vehement  flame"  is  most  generally  understood  to  be, 
"the  flame  of  Jehovah"  (jrii  ninnb)-  The  love  of  Jesus  is  seen  in  pro- 
portion as  we  see  the  heat  of  the  wrath  which  he  bore  for  us.  "  Love  is 
strong  as  deatli — like  the  flame  of  Jehovah,"  i.  e.,  on  the  altar.  How  great 
was  the  sin  of  Ahaz,  2  Chron.  xxviii.  24,  when  he  shut  up  the  temple  !  for 
in  so  doing  he  was  attempting  to  extinguish  the  perpetual  fire  on  the  altar, 
as  if  thereby  to  hide  from  his  view  the  type  of  God's  justice  and  a  coming 
hell — a  sin-avenging  God. 


CHAPTER  VI.  123 

was  an  awful  view  of  Divine  justice  ;  it  figured  out  the 
tremendous  fierceness  of  Almighty  wrath.  Yet  inasmuch 
as  it  is  "  the  fat  of  peace-offerings,''''  a  discerning,  believ- 
ing worshipper  may  find  the  elements  of  peace  even  here. 
The  peace-oflfering  on  which  that  flame  has  fed  declared 
his  reconciliation ;  so  that  he  can  read  the  assurance  of 
his  acceptance  even  in  these  flames  !  Justice  fully  satis- 
fied, and  yet  the  worshipper  standing  in  peace,  is  the 
truth  taught  us  by  the  blazing  flame  of  this  altar.  "  Our 
G-od  is  a  consuming  fire." 

Ver.  13.    "  The  fire  shall  ever  be  burning  upon  the  altar ;  it  shall  never 

go  out." 

Throughout  we  are  emphatically  shown  that  this  fire 
has  no  end.  We  are  reminded  of  John's  words,  "  The 
wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him"  (Johniii.  36),  and  Christ's 
thrice  repeated  declaration,  "  Where  their  worm  dieth 
not,  and  their  fire  is  not  quenched."  (Mark  ix.)  The 
word  for  ''  go  out"  is  the  same  that  elsewhere  is  rendered 
'^  quenched^''  it\y2r)).  The  eternal  justice  of  Jehovah 
shall  never  cease  to  find  fuel  in  hell ;  and  never  shall  it 
cease  to  find  satisfaction  in  the  Altar  of  the  Great  High 
Priest.  Hence  we  see  that  an  everlasting  righteousness 
was  what  we  needed.  (Dan.  ix.  24.)  "  Eternal  re- 
demption" is  what  has  been  obtained  for  us.  (Heb.  ix. 
12.) 

REGARDING  THE  MEAT-OFFERING. 

Ver.  14.     "And  this  is  the  law  of  the  meat-offering:  the  sons  of  Aaron 
shall  offer  it  before  the  Lord,  before  the  altar." 

The  duties  of  the  priest  are  dwelt  upon  here.  The 
officiating  priest  shall  take  the  meat-offering  from  the 
worshipper,   and   shall   present   it.      He   shall   do   this 


124  SPECIAL  RULES  FOE  THE  PRIESTS. 

solemnly,  coming  up  ^'  before  the  altar ^''^  i.  e.  in  front  of 
itj  in  sight  of  all  the  people  who  stand  by.  For  thus  the 
dedication  of  all  that  the  man  has — body  and  property, 
as  well  as  soul — is  publicly  declared.  All  are  witnesses 
that  now  he  is  not  his  own. 

Ver.  15,  "  And  he  shall  take  of  it  his  handful,  of  the  flour  of  the  meat- 
offering, and  of  the  oil  tliereof,  and  all  the  frankincense  which  is  upon 
the  meat-offering,  and  shall  burn  it  upon  the  altar  for  a  sweet  savor, 
even  the  memorial  of  it,  unto  the  Lord." 

When  the  memorial  (see  chap.  ii.  2)  was  taken  and 
burned,  the  offerer  saw  a  sight  that  refreshed  his  soul. 
He  saw  the  altar  smoking,  and  felt  the  air  breathing 
with  his  accepted  gift, — "  a  savor  of  rest."  It  was  on 
such  occasions  as  these  that  the  priests  exhibited  salva- 
tion and  its  results  so  fully  to  the  comfort  of  the  worship- 
pers, that  "  the  saints  shouted  for  joy."  (Psalm  cxxxii. 
16.) 

Ver.  16.  "  And  the  remainder  thereof  shall  Aaron  and  his  sons  eat ; 
with  unleavened  bread  shall  it  be  eaten  in  the  holy  place ;  in  the 
court  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation  they  shall  eat  it." 

It  ought  to  be  rendered,  "  unleavened  shall  it  be 
eaten  ;"^  that  is,  the  remainder  which  Aaron  and  his 
sons  received  as  their  part,  shall  be  eaten  in  the  form  of 
unleavened  bread.  There  must  not  be  anything  in  it  that 
would  intimate  sin  and  corruption ;  for  since  the  memo 
rial  has  been  offered,  the  remainder  is  reckoned  pure,  so 
pure  that  it  may  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the  priests  as 
food,  and  eaten  on  holy  ground.  It  may  present  to  us 
the  fact,  that  when  Jesus  was  once  offered  as  a  "  sweet 
savor  of  rest,"  then  what  remained^  viz.,  his  body  the 

*  a^u/jrt  0po}9ri(TETai,  Sept.,  caten  as  unleavened,  "  comedet  absque  fer- 
mento,"  Vulgate. 


CHAPTER  VI.  125 

Church,  was  pure,  and  might  be  freely  admitted  to  holy- 
ground,  to  heaven  and  to  all  heavenly  employments. 

The  ^''  holy  place'''  here  is  the  court  of  the  tabernacle, 
ver.  26,  where  the  altar  and  laver  stood.  It  is  "  holy"  on 
the  same  principle  that  Peter  calls  the  hill  of  transfigura- 
tion ''the  holy  mount"  (2  Pet.  i.  18)  ;  and  because  the 
same  Grod  was  present  there  who  made  the  place  "  holy 
ground"  to  Moses  at  the  bush.  (Exod.  iii.  5.)  There  is 
a  passage  in  Numbers  xviii.  10,  where  the  court  seems  to 
be  called  "  most  holy :"  "  In  the  most  holy  place  shalt 
thou  eat  it" — unless  we  render  the  words  (as  Horsley 
proposes)  "  Among  the  most  holy  things  thou  shalt  eat 
it."  Patrick's  explanation  of  it,  by  a  reference  to  the  holy 
chambers  in  Ezekiel  xlii.,  is  altogether  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. It  seems  to  be  simply  the  Lord's  presence  hallow- 
ing the  courts  where  such  offerings  were  made  that  is 
meant. 

Leviticus  xxiv.  9,  and  elsewhere,  again,  calls  it  "  the 
holy  place."  And  no  wonder  ;  for  it  was  "  at  the  door  of 
the  tabernacle"  (viii.  31),  which  seems  to  mean  opposite 
the  altar,  which  was  the  prominent  object  in  the  view  of 
all  in  the  courts,  but  specially  of  any  at  the  entrance. 
To  this  allusion  is  made  in  Isa.  Ixii.  9,  when  thank-offer- 
ings of  corn  and  wine  are  spoken  of  as  feasted  "  in  the 
courts  of  my  holiness.'''' 

Ver.  1*1.  "It  shall  not  be  baked  with  leaven.  I  have  given  it  unto 
them  for  their  portion  of  my  offerings  made  by  fire  ;  it  is  most  holy, 
as  is  the  sin-offering,  and  as  the  trespass-ofifering." 

They  are  directed  not  to  use  it  as  they  might  do  bread 
at  their  own  dwellings  :  "  There  must  be  no  leaven  in 
it,  for  it  is  a  gift  to  them  from  me.  Let  it,  then,  derive 
its  sweetness  and  relish  to  their  taste  from  the  considera- 


126  SPECIAL  EULES  FOE  THE  PEIESTS. 

tion  that  it  is  my  gift  to  them."  This  is  truly  like 
Hannah,  Samuel's  mother  ;  when  rejoicing  after  her  son's 
birth  she  sings,  not  of  her  joy  in  her  first-born,  but  of 
her  joy  in  Him  who  gave  her  the  rich  gift,  "  My  heart 
rejoiceth  in  the  Lord^  mine  horn  is  exalted  in  the  Lord^ 
(1  Sam.  ii.  1.)  There  is  here,  also,  a  cheering  notice  of 
the  full  communion  that  subsists  between  G-od  and  his 
people,  "/have  given  it  for  their  portion,  out  of  my 
offerings."  As  if  there  was  an  intercommunity  of  goods 
— of  blessings — between  God  and  his  people.  He  and 
they  alike  feast  upon  the  same  holiness  and  purity  found 
in  the  Righteous  One. 

Ministers,  and  indeed  all  God's  people,  are  here  taught 
not  to  consider  the  smallest  service  or  offering  as  unim- 
portant. Lest  these  "cakes,"  and  "  flour,"  and  "  baken 
things"  should  be  treated  slightly,  the  Lord  as  solemnly 
declared,  "  It  is  most  holy,  as  is  the  sin-offering,  and  as 
the  trespass-offering." 

Ver.  18.  "All  the  males  among  the  children  of  Aaron  shall  eat  of  it. 
It  shall  be  a  statute  forever  in  your  generations  concerning  the 
offerings  of  the  Lord  made  by  fire  :  every  one  that  toucheth  them 
shall  be  holy." 

While  all  the  males  of  Aaron's  line  might  eat  thereof, 
every  one  must  remember  in  all  generations  to  do  so 
with  deep  reverence ;  for  "  every  one  (or  everything) 
that  toucheth  them  shall  be  holy."  Any  person  or  thing 
touching  them  was  to  be  reckoned  as  set  apart  to  holy 
purposes,  to  be  treated  accordingly.  Garments,  vessels, 
or  the  like,  must  be  then  considered  as  on  holy  ground ; 
and  accordingly,  must  be  washed  in  clean  water,  as  an 
emblem  of  setting  apart  from  common  use.  Persons^ 
too,  that  came  in  contact,  must  wash  themselves,  being, 


CHAPTER  VI.  127 

like  Moses  at  the  bush,  suddenly  drawn  into  Grod's  pres- 
ence, where  they  must  put  off  the  shoe. 

What  a  circle  of  deep  awe  was  thus  drawn  round  the 
altar  and  its  offerings !  ''  Grod  is  greatly  to  be  feared  in 
the  assembly  of  his  saints,  and  to  be  had  in  reverence 
of  all  that  are  about  him."  (Psalm  Ixxxix.  7.)  Nothing 
is  more  blissful  than  Grod's  presence,  yet  nothing  more 
solemnizing.  Bethel  was  "the  gate  of  heaven,"  and 
yet  "how  dreadful!"  This  is  holy  bliss ;  it  is  not  as 
the  world's  joy. 

Vers.  19,  20.  "And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  This  is  the 
offering  of  Aaron  and  of  his  sons,  which  they  shall  offer  unto  the 
Lord  in  the  day  when  he  is  anointed  ;  the  tenth  part  of  an  ephah 
of  fine  flour  for  a  meat-offering  perpetual,*  half  of  it  in  the  morning, 
and  half  thereof  at  night." 

"  A  meat-offering  perpetuaF  means  that  this  shall  be 
m  all  ages  the  manner  of  the  priesfs  meat-offering. 
The  common  priests  and  Aaron  offered  it  at  their  first 
entering  on  office,  and  that  is  "  the  day  when  he  is 
anointed.''''  They  had  been  already  told  what  to  bring, 
in  Exod.  xxix.  2,  but  they  are  told  hoiv  to  bring  it, — 
what  ceremonies  to  use  in  the  bringing  of  it. 

The  priest's  meat-offering  was  of  "fine  flour,"  in 
"cakes  and  wafers"  (Exod.  xxix.  2),  and  "  baken  in  the 
pan."  (ver.  21.)  It  thus  contained  a  reference  to  the 
two  most  common  sorts  of  meat-offering  mentioned 
in  chap.  ii.  1-6.  It  was  neither  the  richest  nor  the 
poorest. 

The  omer,  or  tenth  part  of  the  ephah,  is  fixed  on  as 
the  measure.  It  might  remind  them  of  the  omer  of 
manna  which  they  used  daily  to  gather ;  and  the  omer 
of  it  kept  in  the  golden  pot.  When  they  remembered 
that  manna,  would  not  their  hearts  naturally  feel  their 


128  SPECIAL  RULES  FOR  THE  PRIESTS. 

obligations  to  devote  all  their  substance  to  him  who 
gave  them  bread  from  heaven,  and  was  still  command- 
ing the  blessing  on  their  fields  and  dwellings  ? 

Ver.  2L  "In  a  pan  it  shall  be  made  with  oil;  and  when  it  is  baken, 
thou  slialt  bring  it  in :  and  the  baken  pieces  of  the  meat-offering 
shalt  thou  offer  for  a  sweet  savor  unto  the  Lord." 

They  were  to  bring  it  ready-baken,  that  is,  prepared 
in  the  form  of  cakes  and  wafers,  as  Exod.  xxix.  2 
directed,  and  as  chap.  ii.  5  appoints  in  regard  to  things 
baken  in  the  pan. 

The  oz7,  and  other  particulars,  have  been  noticed 
above.  The  bringing  it  to  the  altar,  all  ready,  may 
have  been  meant  to  teach  the  need  of  a  fully  prepared 
offering — nothing  imperfect — if  presented  to  the  Lord 
for  acceptance. 

Vers.  22,  23.  "  And  the  priest  of  his  sons  that  is  anointed  in  his  stead 
shall  offer  it :  it  is  a  statute  forever  unto  the  Lord :  it  shall  be 
wholly  burnt.  For  every  meat-offering  for  the  priest  shall  be 
wholly  burnt :  it  shall  not  be  eaten." 

The  ministering  high-priest  already  in  office  presented 
this  offcrinsr  of  the  sons  of  Aaron  on  the  dav  of  their 
consecration. 

It  is  particularly  declared  that  it  must  be  "  wholly 
hurnf^ — ^''  not  eaten^'' — because  it  was  a  priest's  offering. 
(See  ver.  30,  also.)  This  prefigured,  no  doubt,  the  truth 
that  Christ  gave  himself,  entirely  and  completely,  as  the 
offering.  This  type  refers  to  the  Saviour  alone,  not  to 
his  people.  It  is  speaking  only  of  the  Head,  not  of  the 
members.  He  who  was  his  people's  priest,  in  giving 
himself,  gave  himself  wholly,  soul  and  body,  to  the  con- 
suming flame.  "  Our  Grod  is  a  consuming  fire ;"  and 
that  fire  withered  his  spirit  as  he  bore  the  curse.     This 


CHAPTER  VI.  129 

meat-offering  was  wholly  burnt,  because  it  is  tlie  meat- 
offering of  the  priest,  who  is  the  type  of  Jesus. 

REGARDING    THE    SIN-OFFERING. 

Vers.  24,  25.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Speak  unto 
Aaron  and  to  his  sons,  saying.  This  is  the  law  of  the  sin-offering : 
In  the  place  where  the  burnt-offering  is  killed  shall  the  sin-offering 
be  killed  before  the  Lord ;  it  is  most  holy." 

It  must  be  brought  solemnly  before  the  Lord,  like  the 
great  burnt-offering,  and  killed  on  the  same  spot,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  altar  (i.  11).  It  is  to  one  and  the 
same  atonement  that  all  these  sacrifices  refer. 

It  is  "  most  holy."     All  sacrifices  were  to  be  regarded 

with  the  deepest  awe.     For  it  was  as  if  the  worshippers 

were  standing  at  the  cross,  where  the  Marys  stood,  and 

saw  the  Saviour  die.     Or,  like  the  heavenly  host,  when 

they  saw  the  disembodied   soul   ("  the  blood   was  the 

life?'')  of  the  Redeemer  come  in  before  the  Father,  at 

the  moment  the  last  mite  was  paid,  and  he  had  cried, 

"It   is  finished."     Was   there  ever   such    an   hour  in 

heaven  ?  or  shall  there  ever  be  such  an  hour  in  earth  or 

heaven  ?     Even  in  the  act  of  accepting  the  atonement 

made,  how  solemnly  does  the  soul  feel  that  receives  it ! 

See  Isaiah,  when  the  live  coal  touched  his  lips.     What, 

then,  must  have  been  the  hour  when  atonement  itself 

was  spread  out  complete  ?     The  hour  when  a  lost  sheep 

returns  is  solemn ;  but  what  is  this  to  the  hour  when 

the  shepherd  himself  returned  ? 

Ver.  26.  "  The  priest  that  offereth*  it  for  sin  shall  eat  it ;  in  the  holy- 
place  shall  it  be  eaten,  in  the  court  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congre- 
gation." 

*  nnx  Nl^n^in  "jinan .    May  it  be,  "  Who  maketh  it  sin ;"  i.  e.,  by 

thus  offering  it,  he  makes  it  a  mass  of  sin  ?     See  this  use  of  the  word  in 

chap.  ix.  15. 

6# 


130  SPECIAL  EULES  FOR  THE   PRIESTS. 

The  Lord  who  ''  by  himself  purged  away  sin,"  holds 
communion  with  the  once  sinful  man.  He  accepts  the 
offerer  who  presents  this  sacrifice.  In  Hosea  iv.  8,  this 
rite  is  referred  to — "  They  eat  up  the  sin-offering  of  my 
people"  (nt<:5n) ;  and  then  "  lift  up  their  hearts  to  their 
iniquity."  The  degenerate  priests  one  moment  engaged 
in  duty,  and  the  next  ran  back  to  sin. 

Vers.  27,  28.  "  Whatsoever  shall  touch  the  flesh  thereof  shall  be  holy: 
and  when  there  is  sprinkled  of  the  blood  thereof  upon  any  garment, 
thou  shalt  wash  that  whereon  it  was  sprinkled  in  the  holy  place. 
But  the  earthen  vessel  wherein  it  is  sodden  shall  be  broken :  and 
if  it  be  sodden  in  a  brazen  pot,  it  shall  be  both  scoured  and  rinsed 
in  water," 

How  awful  is  atoning  blood!  Even  things  without 
life,  such  as  garments,  are  held  in  dreadful  sacredness 
if  this  blood  touch  them.  No  wonder,  then,  that  this 
earth,  on  which  fell  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  Grod,  has  a 
sacredness  in  the  eye  of  Grod.  It  must  be  set  apart  for 
holy  ends,  since  the  blood  of  Jesus  has  wet  its  soil. 
And  as  the  earthen  vessel,  within  which  the  sacrifice 
was  offered,  must  be  broken,  and  not  used  for  any 
meaner  end  again  ;  so  must  this  earth  be  decomposed 
and  new-moulded,  for  it  must  be  kept  for  the  use  of 
him  whose  sacrifice  was  offered  there.  And  as  the 
brazen  vessel  must  be  rinsed  and  scoured,  so  must  this 
earth  be  freed  from  all  that  dims  its  beauty,  and  be  set 
apart  for  holy  ends.  It  must  be  purified  and  reserved 
for  holy  purposes ;  for  the  blood  of  Jesus  has  dropt  upon 
it,  and  made  it  more  sacred  than  any  spot,  except  where 
he  himself  dwells.  "  My  holy  mountain"  (Isa.  xi.  9),  is 
the  name  it  gets  from  himself,  when  he  is  telling  how 
he  means  to  cleanse  it  for  his  own  use. 

Vers.  29,  30.    "  All  the  males  among  the  priests  shall  eat  thereof :  it 


CHAPTER  VI.  131 

is  most  holy.  And  no  sin-ofifering,  whereof  any  of  the  blood  ia 
brought  into  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation  to  reconcile  withal 
in  the  holy  place,  shall  be  eaten :  it  shall  be  burnt  in  the  fire." 

Again  the  awful  sacred ness  of  it  is  declared.  It  seems 
as  if  nothing  was  so  fitted  to  teach  us  holiness  as  com- 
plete atonement.  "He  sitteth  between  the  cherubim," 
says  Ps.  xcix.  1,  looking  down  on  the  sprinkled  blood ; 
therefore,  "  Let  the  earth  be  moved." 

The  sin-offerings  are  the  class  of  sacrifices  mentioned 
as  "  those  whereof  any  of  the  blood  is  brought  into  the 
tabernacle  to  reconcile  withal  in  the  holy  placed     Now, 
these  will  be  found  to  be  the  same  sin-offerings  that  were 
'*  burnt   without   the    campP      (Heb.  xiii.  11.)     All  of 
which  specially  and  peculiarly  prefigured  the  entireness 
of  the  Saviour's    work.     (See    chap.   iv.   12.)     On  this 
account  they  are  never  to  be  eaten,  but  all  consumed ; 
as  observed  in  a  similar  case,  ver.  23.     On  some  occasions 
the  Lord  is  pleased  to  exhibit  parts  of  the  truth  sepa- 
rately, withdrawirg  our  view,  for  the  sake  of  deeper  im- 
pressiveness,   from   all  but  one  point  at  a  time.     This 
seems  to  be  done  here.     "We  are  here  led  to  notice  the 
entireness  and  completeness  of  the  offering,  apart  from 
the  results  of  restoring  fellowship  between  the  sinner  and 
his  God,  which  "  eating"  would  have  intimated.     The 
transfer  of  the  offerer's  guilt  to  the  victim  was  so  com- 
plete that  the  victim  is   altogether  polluted — all  '''-made 
siyiP     Hence  nothing  of  it  whatsoever  must  be  used ; 
the  fire  must  thoroughly  consume  it  all.     Thus  we  behold 
the  debt,  and  the  gold  that  pays  it  all  told  down  on  the 
floor  of  the  holy  place  !     What  a  debt !     "What  a  pay- 
ment !     The  last  might  is  there  !     Behold  the  demands 
of  a  holy  God  !     And  these  all  met  and  satisfied  !     Be- 
hold the  sacrifice  and  the  fire  ! — and  then  the  sacrifice 


132  SPECIAL  EULES  FOR  THE   PRIESTS. 

*'  wliolly  consumed  /"  How  fierce  the  heat  of  the  flame ! 
How  complete  the  consumption  !  Thus  terribly  pure  is 
the  justice  of  the  Lord  in  vindicating  his  holy  law ;  and 
thus,  to  the  fullest  measure,  did  the  atonement  meet  the 
requirements  of  that  eternal  law — that  jealous  God — 
who  is  "  Holy,  holy,  holy." 


CHAPTER   YII. 

REGARDING    THE    TRESPASS-OFFERING. 

Vers.  1,  2,  "Likewise  this  is  the  law  of  the  trespass-offering:  it  is 
most  holy.  In  the  place  where  they  kill  the  burnt-offering  shall 
they  kill  the  trespass-offering:  and  the  blood  thereof  shall  be 
sprinkled  round  about  upon  the  altar." 

So  much  had  been  said  of  the  blood  of  the  sin-offering, 
in  chap,  iv.,  that  there  was  no  need  to  call  attention  to 
that  matter  in  giving  directions  to  the  priests  regarding 
it.  But  there  had  been  little  said  about  the  blood  of  the 
trespass-offering  ;  and  therefore  it  is  specially  noticed 
here.  The  blood  must  be  "  sprinkled  round  about  upon 
the  altar y  Surely  Israel  must  have  felt  that  their  souls 
were  reckoned  very  guilty  by  their  Grod,  since  he  spoke 
to  them  so  continually  in  the  language  of  blood.  None 
but  a  heavy-laden  sinner  could  relish  this  never- varying 
exhibition  of  blood  to  the  eye  of  the  worshipper.  The 
pilgrims  to  Zion,  in  after  days,  must  often,  as  they  jour- 
neyed through  the  vale  of  Baca,  have  wondered  what 
was  to  be  seen  and  heard  in  the  courts  of  the  Lord's 
house,  of  which  the  worshippers  sang,  "  Hoio  amiable 
are  thy  tabernacles,  0  Lord  of  hosts  I  My  soul  longeth, 
yea  even  fainteth  for  the  courts  of  the  Lord  ;  my  heart 


CHAPTEE  VII.  133 

and  my  flesh  crieth  out  for  the  livhig  God."  "  Blessed 
are  they  that  dwell  in  thy  house  !"  (Ps.  Ixxxiv.  1,  2,  4.) 
And  when  they  arrived,  and  saw  in  these  courts  blood 
on  the  altar,  blood  in.  the  bowels  of  the  altar,  blood  on 
its  four  horns,  blood  on  its  sides,  blood  meeting  the  eye 
at  every  turn,  none  but  a  deeply  convicted  soul,  none  but 
a  soul  really  alive  to  the  guilt  of  a  broken  law,  could 
enter  into  the  song,  and  cry  with  the  worshippers,  "  How 
amiable  /"  Even  so  with  a  preached  Saviour  at  this  day, 
and  a  sin-convinced  soul ! 

Vers.  3,  4,  5,  6.  "  And  he  shall  offer  of  it  all  the  fat  thereof ;  the  rump, 
and  the  fat  that  covereth  the  inwards,  and  the  two  kidneys,  and  the 
fat  that  is  on  them,*  which  is  by  the  flanks,  and  the  caul  that  is 
above  the  liver,  with  the  kidneys,  it  shall  he  take  away :  and  the 
priest  shall  burn  them  upon  the  altar  for  an  offering  made  by  fire 
unto  the  Lord :  it  is  a  trespass-offering.  Every  male  among  the 
priests  shall  eat  thereof:  it  shall  be  eaten  in  the  holy  place:  it  is 
most  holy." 

These  rites  had  been  prescribed,  in  chaps,  iii.  and  iv., 
in  regard  to  other  offerings,  but  had  not  been  prescribed 
as  belonging  to  the  trespass-offering.  And  as  the  priests 
are  specially  instructed  here,  the  specific  directions  come 
in  appropriately  here. 

The  Lord  does  not  weary  of  repeating  these  types,  both 
because  of  his  wondrous  love  to  the  sinner,  and  his  still 
more  unfathomable  love  to  him  whom  he  holds  out  to 
fallen  man  in  each  of  these  figures,  his  Well-beloved. 

Ver.  7.  "  As  the  sin-offering  is,  so  is  the  trespass-offering :  there  is  one 
law  for  them  :  the  priest  that  maketh  atonement  therewith  shall 
have  it." 

*  "  The  fat  that  is  on  them,"  and  that,  too,  which  is  "  on  the  flanks" — 
a  construction  similar  to  Ps.  cxxxiii.  3,  "  The  dew  of  Hermon,  and  also  the 
dew  that  descendeth  on  the  mountains  of  Zion." 


134  SPECIAL  RULES   FOR  THE   PRIESTS. 

One  law,  not  in  regard  to  all  the  ceremonies  used 
therein,  but  in  regard  to  this  special  circumstance  of  the 
priest  having  the  pieces  left  as  his  portion.  (See  in  chap, 
vi.  26.)  The  design  of  this  may  have  been  to  fix  atten- 
tion on  one  special  result  of  atonement,  viz.,  that  he  who 
is  the  means  of  making  atonement  has  a  claim  on  all 
that  the  offerer  brings  ;  thus  showing  forth  Christ's  claim 
on  his  people  for  whom  he  atones.  "  Ye  are  not  your 
own;  for  ye  are  bought  with  a  price."     (1  Cor.  vi.  20.) 


GENERAL  RULE  REGARDING  PORTIONS  BELONGING  TO  THE 

PRIESTS. 

Ver,  8.  "  And  the  priest  that  offereth  any  man's  burnt-offering,  even 
the  priest  shall  have  to  himself  the  skin  of  the  burnt-offering  which 
he  hath  offered." 

This  general  rule  seems  naturally  to  follow  the  special 
case  just  noticed  in  ver.  7.  There  we  see  "  the  skin'^ 
given  to  the  priest,  irresistibly  reminding  us  of  the  skins 
that  clothed  Adam  and  Eve.  If  Jesus,  at  the  gate  of 
Eden,  acting  as  our  Priest,  appointed  sacrifice  to  be 
offered  there,  then  he  had  a  right  to  the  skins,  as  priest ; 
and  the  use  to  which  he  appropriated  them  was  clothing' 
Adam  and  Eve.  He  has  clothing  for  the  naked  soul — 
*'  fine  raiment"  (Rev.  iii.  18) — obtained  from  his  own 
sacrifice.  Even  at  the  gate  of  Eden  he  began  to  "  counsel 
us  to  buy  of  him  fine  raiment  that  we  might  be  clothed." 
And  this  is  his  office  still.     (Rev.  iii.  18.) 

Vers.  9,  10.  "And  all  the  meat-offering  that  is  baken  in  the  oven,  and 
all  that  is  dressed  in  the  frying-pan,  and  in  the  pan,  shall  be  the 
priest's  that  offered  it.  And  every  meat-offering,  mingled  with  oil, 
and  dry,  shall  all  the  sons  of  Aaron  have,  one  as  much  as  another.' 

^^  All   the   meat-offering'^^— siker  the   memorial   was 


CHAPTER  VII.  185 

taken,  of  course ;  see  chap.  ii.  2,  9.  All  the  kinds  of 
meat-offering  are  mentioned  here — those  prepared  in  the 
oven^  frying-pan,  and  pan.  Then,  in  ver.  10,  the  heap 
of  fine  flour  is  meant  by  "  every  meat-offering  mingled 
with  oil,  and  ^r?/."  It  is  not  baked,  but  dry ;  the  oil 
being  on  it  merely  to  consecrate  it. 

The  meaning  of  this  part  of  the  type  has  already  been 
noticed  in  chap.  ii. 

REGARDING  PEACE-OFFERINGS. 

Ver.  11.   "And  this  is  the  law  of  the  sacrifice  of  peace-offerings,  which 
he  shall  offer  unto  the  Lord." 

The  Jews  say  that  the  peace-offerings  for  thanksgiving 
were  brought  on  such  occasions  as  Psalm  cvii.  mentions 
— on  occasions  of  deliverance  from  danger  in  travelling 
the  desert,  or  voyaging  the  sea,  or  captivity,  or  sickness. 
The  words  used  in  that  Psalm  countenance  the  idea,  ver. 
22,  "  And  let  them  sacrifice  the  sacrifices  of  thanksgiv- 
ing, and  declare  his  works  with  rejoicing^  Peace- 
offerings  brought  on  occasion  of  a  vow  were  probably  very 
similar,  but  with  this  difference,  that  i7i  the  time  of  dan- 
ger— e.  g.,  a  storm  at  sea,  or  simoon  in  the  desert — they 
were  promised  or  vowed  to  the  Lord.  Such  vowed  peace- 
offerings  go  under  the  name  of  ''  sacrifices  of  thanks- 
giving,'''' in  Ps.  cxvi.  17,  compared  with  1,  14,  18. 

Those  called  "  voluntary''^  i^TiX)")  were  probably 
brought  just  because  the  soul  of  the  worshipper  was,  at 
the  time,  overflowing  with  gratitude ;  there  was  not,  in 
this  case,  any  peculiar  event  to  call  it  forth.  They  were 
nearly  allied  to  praise,  in  so  far  as  both  these  offerings 
{^^  freewill  offerings''^)  and  praise  were  dictated  simply 
by  the  fulness  of  the  worshipper's  heart.      Hence  the 


186  SPECIAL  EULES  FOR  THE   PRIESTS. 

phraseology  of  Ps.  cxix.  108,  "Accept,  I  beseech  thee, 
the  freewill  ofierings  of  my  mouth."  And  Heb.  xiii.  15, 
"  By  him,  therefore,  let  us  offer  the  sacrifice  of  praise  to 
G-od  continually,  that  is,  the  fruit  of  our  lips,  giving 
thanks  to  his  name." 

Ver.  12.  "  If  he  offer  it  for  a  thanksgiving,  then  he  shall  offer  with  the 
sacrifice  of  thanksgiving  unleavened  cakes  mingled  with  oil,  and 
cakes  mingled  with  oil,  of  fine  flour,  fried." 

The  last  clause  means,  "the  cakes  mingled  with  oil 
shall  be  made  of  fine  flour  prepared."  The  second  sort 
of  meat-offering  is  fixed  upon  as  Ihe  kind  to  be  brought 
along  with  peace-offerings ;  because,  perhaps,  it  was 
understood  that  the  offerer  was  a  man  able  to  bring  this, 
if  he  could  afford  to  bring  a  thanksgiving  sacrifice.  And 
the  meat-offering  naturally  accompanies  an  expression  of 
gratitude ;  for  it  is  a  binding  of  the  offerer  to  the  Lord, 
himself  and  all  he  has,  body  and  substance,  as  well  as 
soul.  So  in  Ps.  cxvi.,  where  the  vows  are  paid  by  a 
sacrifice  of  thanksgiving,  we  hear  the  offerer  saying  also, 
in  ver.  16,  "0  Lord,  truly  I  am  thy  servant."  What  is 
the  meaning  of  the  redeemed  casting  even  their  crowns 
at  Christ's  feet  ?  Is  not  this  their  expression  of  abound- 
ing gratitude  ?  They  would  fain  have  nothing  of  their 
own.     Let  all  be  his. 

Vers.  13,  14.  "Besides  the  cakes,  he  shall  offer  for  his  offering  leaven- 
ed bread  with  the  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving  of  his  peace-offerings. 
And  of  it  he  shall  offer  one  out  of  the  whole  oblation  for  an  heave- 
offering  unto  the  Lord,  and  it  shall  be  the  priest's  that  sprinkleth 
the  blood  of  the  peace-offerings." 

Here  is  a  remarkable  appointment.  "  Leavened  bread^^ 
is  to  be  offered.  To  understand  this,  we  are  to  keep  in 
mind  that  this  is  a  peace-offering,  and  therefore  the 


CHAPTER  VII.  137 

offerer  is  in  a  reconciled  state  toward  G-od.  His  sins  are 
all  forgiven ;  there  is  peace  between  him  and  his  G-od. 
But  this  reconciliation  does  not  declare  that  there  is  no 
corruption  left  remaining  in  the  worshipper.  Perfect 
pardon  does  not  imply  perfect  holiness.  There  is  a  rem- 
nant of  evil  left.  But  here  we  see  that  remnant  of  evil 
brought  out  before  the  Lord.  The  ''  leavened  cakes'''  in- 
timate the  corruption  of  the  offerer ;  and,  God  having 
graciously  accepted  him,  and  delivered  him  from  evils  in 
the  world  (for  this  is  an  offering  of  thanksgiving  for  spe- 
cial mercies),  he  testifies  his  gratitude  by  bringing  out 
what  of  corruption  is  found  in  his  soul,  that  it  may  be 
removed.  "  Being  made  free  from  sin,  ye  have  your 
fruit  unto  holiness."     (Rom.  vi.  22.) 

And  to  express  yet  more  fully  the  intention  of  bring- 
ing out  this  "  leavened  hread^''  the  14th  verse  tells  that 
it  is  to  be  "  heaved  to  the  hordP^  One  cake  of  this 
bread  that  is  leavened  is  heaved  up  to  the  Lord  ;  the 
priest  lifts  it  up  before  the  Lord,  and,  in  the  sight  of  all 
the  congregation,  waves  it  to  the  four  quarters  of  the 
heavens,  as  a  sign  that  he  is  giving  it  over  to  the  Lord. 
Thus  the  grateful  offerer  presents  to  the  Lord  all  he  has, 
and  spreads  out  his  very  corruptions  to  be  dealt  with  as 
the  Lord  sees  good.  "Was  he  not  saying,  while  the  priest 
thus  waved  the  leavened  cake  to  the  four  winds,  ''  Search 
me,  0  G-od,  and  know  my  heart:  try  me,  and  know  my 
thoughts :  and  see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me, 
and  lead  me  in  the  way  everlasting."     (Ps.  cxxxix.  23, 

*  The  word  is  nTa^nn,  and  the  "wave-offering"  is  nfiiisn.  Both  words 
imply  the  same  action ;  but  the  former  is  the  more  comprehensive.  The 
"  wave-offering"  is  confined  to  lesser  things,  that  could  easily  be  lifted  up. 
Neither  term  implies  anything  as  to  a  new  hind  of  sacrifice,  but  only  a  new 
mode  of  presenting  the  sacrifice. 


138  SPECIAL  EULES  FOR  THE  PRIESTS. 

24.)     Patrick  remarks  that  the  leavened  bread  was  not 
put  upon  the  altar.    It  is  held  up  in  order  to  be  removed. 

Ver.  15.  "  And  the  flesh  of  the  sacrifice  of  his  peace-offerings  for  thanks- 
giving shall  be  eaten  the  same  day  that  it  is  offered ;  he  shall  not 
leave  any  of  it  until  the  morning." 

The  priest  that  sprinkled  the  blood  was  to  eat  the 
pieces  of  this  peace-ofFering  the  same  day  that  it  was 
offered.  Some  say,  this  rule  prevented  covetousness 
arising  in  the  priests  ;  no  one  had  it  in  his  power  to  hoard 
up.  Others  say,  this  rule  was  fitted  to  promote  brotherly 
love ;  for  he  must  call  together  his  friends,  in  order  to 
have  it  all  finished.  But  these  uses  are  only  incidental. 
The  true  use  lies  much  nearer  the  surface.  Israel  might 
hereby  be  taught  to  offer  thanksgiving  while  the  benefit 
was  still  fresh  and  recent.  Besides  this,  and  most 
specially,  the  offerer  who  saw  the  priest  cut  it  in  pieces 
and  feast  thereon,  knew  thereby  that  G-od  had  accepted 
his  gift,  and  returned  rejoicing  to  his  dwelling,  like  David 
and  his  people,  when  their  peace-offerings  were  ended,  at 
the  bringing  up  of  the  ark.  (2  Sam.  vi.  17-19.)  The 
Lord  took  special  notice  of  this  free,  spontaneous  thank- 
offering,  inasmuch  as  he  commanded  it  to  be  immediately 
eaten,  thus  speedily  assuring  the  worshipper  of  peace 
and  acceptance.  The  love  of  our  God  is  too  full  to  be 
restrained  from  us  one  moment  longer  than  is  needful  for 
the  manifestation  of  his  holiness. 

Vers.  16,  17.  "  But  if  the  sacrifice  of  his  offering  be  a  vow,  or  a  volun- 
tary offering,  it  shall  be  eaten  the  same  day  that  he  offereth  his 
sacrifice  :  and  on  the  morrow  also  the  remainder  of  it  shall  be  eaten  : 
but  the  remainder  of  the  flesh  of  the  sacrifice  on  the  third  day  shall 
be  burnt  with  fire." 

This  is  the  case  of  a  peace-offering  offered  on  occasions 


CHAPTER  VII.  139 

wlien  the  man  had  bound  himself  by  a  vow  to  present  it ; 
and  those  other  occasions  when  he  brought  it  voluntanly^ 
that  is,  of  his  own  thought,  although  nothing  special  had 
occurred  to  him  to  draw  it  forth.  There  is  one  particular 
in  which  this  offering  is  to  be  dealt  with  differently  from 
the  first  kind.  The  time  within  which  it  must  be  eaten 
is  never  extended  beyond  the  third  day ;  and  if  any  por- 
tion remained  so  long  as  the  third  day,  that  part  is  to  be 
forthwith  brought  out  and  burnt.  Every  precaution  is 
taken  that  none  of  the  portions  ever  suffer  the  taint  of 
corruption.  The  type  refers  to  the  incorruption  of  the 
Surety,  after  being  offered  as  a  sacrifice.  When  the 
third  day  came  round,  God  completed  his  testimony  to 
the  acceptance  of  his  Son's  work,  by  forthwith  raising 
him  from  the  dead,  ere  corruption  could  begin.  It  seems 
to  be  implied  here,  that  '^  what  remained''''  was  to  be 
speedily  consumed  on  the  third  day — perhaps  as  soon  as 
morning  dawned,  in  order  to  be  the  more  exact  type  of 
the  resurrection  ;  "  early  on  the  first  day  of  the  weekP 

Ver.  18.  "And  if  any  of  the  flesh  of  the  sacrifice  of  his  peace-offerings 
be  eaten  at  all  on  the  third  day,  it  shall  not  be  accepted,  neither 
shall  it  be  imputed  to  him  that  offereth  it :  it  shall  be  an  abomina- 
tion, and  the  soul  that  eateth  of  it  shall  bear  his  iniquity," 

How  strictly  is  the  type  guarded,  that  so  there  may  be 
no  misrepresentation  of  the  Antitype.  Lest  possibly  it 
should  corrupt  by  the  third  day,  it  is  never  to  be  eaten 
then ;  for  in  eating  it  pure,  holy  fellowship  with  Grod 
must  be  set  forth.  They  must  make  haste,  therefore,  to 
eat  it ;  they  might  eat  it  the  very  same  day  as  it  was 
offered  (ver.  16).  Why,  then,  delay?  Aild  to  ensure 
attention  to  this,  the  offerer'' s  own  interest  is  bound  up 
with  it ;  for  here  it  is  declared  that  he  loses  the  whole 


140  SPECIAL  RULES  FOR  THE  PRIESTS. 

comfort  of  his  offering  if  any  part  should  be  left  till  the 
third  day — "  it  shall  not  be  imputed  to  him,"  i.  e.,  not 
reckoned  as  a  peace-offering  at  all.  And  if  any  one 
rashly  persist  in  eating  it,  or  eat  it  ignorantly,  on  that 
day,  he  is  defiled  and  unclean. 

How  careful  ought  we  to  be  to  represent  Christ's  work 
to  our  people  exactly  as  it  is  held  forth  in  Scripture. 
How  jealous  ought  we  to  be  of  any  departure  from  the 
pattern  shown  to  us,  since  the  Father  is  so  jealous  over 
even  the  figures  and  emblems  of  the  doing  and  suffering 
of  his  beloved  Son.  We  need  all  wisdom  and  prudence  ; 
our  people  need  to  implore  such  direction  for  us ;  and 
they,  on  their  own  part,  need  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and 
revelation  in  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  in  order  to  receive 
without  mistake  what  is  set  before  them. 

Ver.  19.  "  And  the  flesh  that  toucheth  any  unclean  thing  shall  not  be 
eaten ;  it  shall  be  burnt  with  fire :  and  as  for  the  flesh,  all  that  be 
clean  shall  eat  thereof." 

Here  it  is  commanded,  first,  that  the  flesh  be  clean ; 
next,  that  they  be  clean  who  eat  it.  The  priests  must 
keep  off  from  the  peace-offering  the  approach  of  anything 
unclean  ;  and  having  thus  guarded  the  flesh  and  kept  it 
pure,  they  must  take  care  that  those  who  feast  thereon 
be  ceremonially  clean.  It  is  an  accepted  work  that  must 
form  our  food  ;  and  it  must  be  fed  upon  by  accepted  per- 
sons. Hence  the  case  of  the  Jews  in  John  xviii.  28  : 
they  wished  to  eat  the  peace-offerings  that  accompanied 
the  Passover,  and  therefore  kept  themselves  from  cere- 
monial defilement. 

Here  is  again  brought  before  us  the  jealous  care  of 
God.  He  must  show  himself  holy,  even  while  he  pours 
out  his  love.     His  unalterable  righteousness  and  purity 


CHAPTER  VII.  141 

must  be  manifested  at  the  tomb  of  Jesus,  in  the  very 
hour  when  he  is  about  to  declare  the  Surety's  work  ac- 
cepted, and  access  open  for  the  sinner  to  the  bosom  of  his 
God. 

Vers.  20,  21.  "  But  the  soul  that  eateth  of  the  flesh  of  the  sacrifice  of 
peace-offerings  that  pertain  unto  the  Lord,  having  his  uncleanness 
upon  him,  even  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  his  people.  Moreover, 
the  soul  that  shall  touch  any  unclean  thing,  as  the  uncleanness  of 
man,  or  any  unclean  beast,  or  any  abominable  unclean  thing,  and 
eat  of  the  flesh  of  the  sacrifice  of  peace-offerings  which  pertain  unto 
the  Lord,  even  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  his  people." 

This  "  cutting  off  from  his  people'''  seems  to  be,  not 
death,  but  complete  expulsion  from  all  ordinances.  The 
person  was  excommunicated,  and  left  to  the  judgment  of 
Grod.  It  seems,  from  chap.  xxii.  4-9,  that  death  was 
sometimes  sent  by  Grod  immediately,  to  ratify  the  act  of 
the  priests.  The  act  was,  in  such  cases,  like  breaking 
through  the  fence  drawn  round  mount  Sinai,  and  coming 
in  to  gaze.  The  source  of  the  sin,  we  should  observe,  is 
comparatively  immaterial,  if  the  fact  of  the  sin  be  estab- 
lished. "  Whether  from  man,  beast,  or  thing,"  it  mat- 
tered not,  if  uncleanness  had  been  contracted.  The 
Lord  shows  us  that  theories  as  to  the  origin  of  evil,  and 
apologies  drawn  from  the  manner  in  which  we  were  Igd 
astray,  can  have  no  effect  in  disproving  the  sin  itself.  It 
seems  implied,  also,  that  no  man  w^as  to  be  allowed* to 
plead  that  it  happened  accidentalJy,  or  was  only  a  trivial 
matter;  the  enumeration  of  ''' man,  beast^  tiling,''^  is 
sweeping  and  decisive. 

And  now,  we  see  the  reference  in  Psalm  xxii.  2% 
"  The  meek  shall  eat  and  be  satisfied.'^''  The  meek  are 
they  who  bow  to  Grod's  will  and  follow  his  rules.  They 
may  freely  eat  when  complying  with  his  rules.     In  that 


142  SPECIAL  RULES  FOR  THE   PRIESTS. 

Psalm,  the  food  is  Christ,  our  slain  lamb,  of  whom  we 
may  freely  partake  as  often  as  we  will,  if  only  we  comply 
with  the  rule  to  come  to  this  feast  on  the  simple  warrant, 
"  All  things  are  ready."     So  to  come  is  true  meekness. 

GENERAL  LAWS  REGARDING  THE  FAT  AND  THE  BLOOD. 

Vers.  22,  23.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Speak  unto 
the  children  of  Israel,  saying,  Ye  shall  eat  no  manner  of  fat,  of  ox, 
or  of  sheep,  or  of  goat." 

Probably  the  frequent  occurrence  of  fat  in  the  peace- 
offerings  led  to  the  introduction  of  this  rule  in  this  place; 
and  the  prohibition  of  fat  was  naturally  connected  with 
that  regarding  blood  in  ver.  26. 

These  three,  "  ar,  sheep^  goat^^^  include  all  the  classes 
of  animals  offered  in  sacrifice.  And  ^^  the  faV  forbidden 
is  all  those  pieces  elsewhere  mentioned  as  sacrificial, 
devoted  to  the  fire.  On  feast-days,  we  read  of  the  people 
"  eating  the  fat  and  drinking  the  sweet."  In  this  case, 
the  fat  of  sheep  and  oxen  seems  meant.  But  the  pieces 
were  not  the  sacrificial  pieces.  Our  rendering  conveys 
too  wide  a  prohibition ;  it  ought  to  be  rendered,  "  Ye 
shall  not  eat  any  fat  of  ox^''  &c.,  viz.,  any  of  that  spoken 
of  in  iii.  17. 

•  What  we  give  to  the  Lord  must  be  wholly  his.  "We 
mjast  not  give  it  to  the  Lord,  and  then  draw  it  back  for 
our  own  use.  Holy  things  must  be  completely  left  at  the 
Lord's  disposal,  like  the  money  laid  at  the  apostles'  feet  by 
Joses  of  Cyprus.     (Acts  iv.  36.) 

Ver.  24.  "  And  the  fat  of  the  beast  that  dieth  of  itself,  and  the  fat  of 
that  -which  is  torn  with  beasts,  may  be  used  in  any  other  use  ;  but 
ye  shall  in  no  wise  eat  of  it." 

They  might  use  the  fat  of  such  torn  beasts  and  such 


CHAPTER  VII.  143 

diseased  ones,  for  a  blaze  on  their  own  hearth,  or  for 
domestic  purposes  ;  but  they  must  not  use  the  sacrificial 
portions  for  food,  even  when  the  animal  cannot  be  brought 
to  the  altar. 

Grod's  claim  upon  them  must  be  kept  ever  in  view. 
These  pieces  are  the  Lord's  in  all  cases ;  and  had  they 
eaten  pieces  that  were  to  be  consumed  on  the  altar,  then 
the  type  would  have  been  interfered  with.  These  pieces 
being  set  apart  to  signify  the  inmost  desires  given  up  to 
God,  man  must  never  feast  on  them.  They  are  no  por- 
tion for  him.  The  strength  of  our  desires  and  feelings 
is  already  given  away ;  we  cannot  spend  it  on  any  but 
God  himself. 

Ver.  25.  "  For  whosoever  eateth  the  fat  of  the  beast,  of  which  men 
offer  an  offering  made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord,  even  the  soul  that 
eateth  it  shall  be  cut  off  from  his  people." 

The  injunction  is  repeated,  because  the  temptation 
might  occur  very  often  in  common  life  ;  and  the  penalty 
is  complete  excommunication  from  the  holy  people.  We 
are  thus  taught  the  awful  guilt  of  transgressing  even  the 
smallest  precept  that  comes  from  the  mouth  of  the  Lord. 
It  is  a  case  like  this,  where  there  is  no  other  reason  for 
the  thing  being  binding  but  just  this,  viz.,  the  Lord  has 
said  it ;  it  is  such  a  case  that  best  shows  us  the  majesty 
and  glory  of  the  Lord.  He  is  such,  that  to  deviate  froin 
the  slightest  of  his  precepts  is  a  sin  that  deserves  cutting 
off  from  the  holy  people.  "  0  God  I  who  is  like  unto 
thee  ?" 

It  is  thus,  too,  that  we  arrive  at  a  simple,  but  very 
awful  view  of  sin  itself.  The  essence  of  its  enormity  is, 
opposition  to  the  will  of  the  Holy  One.  And  as  the 
smallest  precept  given  forth  by  him,  discovers  the  desires 


144:  SPECIAL  RULES  FOR  THE  PRIESTS. 

of  his  heart,  so,  to  oppose  this  precept,  is  really  to  thwart 
the  purpose  and  desire  of  the  Lord's  heart — the  Lord's 
nature — his  very  Grodhead. 

We  should  view  every  precept  as  proceeding  from  the 
heart  of  him  "  who  so  loved  us  ;"  and  in  this  light  every 
precept  will  connect  us  with  his  love. 

Vers.  26,  2Y.  "Moreover,  ye  shall  eat  no  manner  of  blood,  -whether  it 
be  of  fowl,  or  of  beast,  in  any  of  your  cfwellings.  Whatsoever  soul 
it  be  that  eateth  any  manner  of  blood,  even  that  soul  shall  be  cut 
off  from  his  people." 

Because  the  blood  was  set  apart  (see  iii.  17)  to  repre- 
sent life  poured  out  as  an  atonement.  How  often  was 
the  stream  of  Calvary  thus  made  to  flow  within  their 
view  !  How  often  were  weary  Israelites  thus  refreshed 
"  in  their  dwellings"  by  a  sight  of  blood  set  apart,  lead- 
ing them  to  him  who  was  to  come  and  pour  out  his  soul 
unto  death  I 

RULES     REGARDING     THE      PARTS    OF    THE     PEACE-OFFERING, 
SPECIALLY    THE    BREAST    AND    THE    SHOULDER. 

Vers.  28,  29.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying.  Speak  unto 
the  children  of  Israel,  saying.  He  that  offereth  the  sacrifice  of  his 
peace-offerings  unto  the  Lord,  shall  bring  his  oblation  unto  the 
Lord  of  the  sacrifice  of  his  peace-offerings." 

The  meaning  is,  "  He  that  cometh  to  present  a  peace- 
offering  as  his  sacrifice,  shall,  in  so  doing,  bring  the 
requisite  parts." 

Some  new  truths  are  here  put  before  us  in  the  peace- 
offering  ;  and  these  truths  are,  all  of  them,  comforting  to 
the  priest's  heart.  It  is  the  priests  who  are  specially 
addressed  in  the  directions  of  this  chapter,  so  that  it  was 
natural  to  bring  in,  at  this  point,  what  bore  upon  their 
comfort. 


CHAPTER  VII.  145 

Vers.  30,  31'.  "His  own  hands  shall  bring  the  offerings  of  the  Lord 
made  by  fire ;  the  fat  with  the  breast,  it  shall  he  bring,  that  the 
breast  may  be  waved  for  a  wave-offering  before  the  Lord.  And  the 
priest  shall  burn  the  fat  upon  the  altar :  but  the  breast  shall  be 
Aaron's  and  his  sons'." 

The  offerer  himself — "  his  own  hands" — must  bring 
the  offering  ;  for  we  must  come  to  God  in  our  own  person, 
each  of  us  for  ourselves,  and  enter  into  fellowship  with 
him  for  our  own  souls.  Each  of  us,  when  reconciled, 
must  bring  to  Grod  ^Hhe  fatf  all  mentioned  in  chap, 
iii.  3,  4,  typical  of  every  deep-seated  desire,  every  inward 
affection.  And  we  bring,  also,  the  breast^  in  connection 
with  the  fat^  intimating  the  heart's  affections  and  sympa- 
thies. Aaron  and  his  sons  receive  the  breast  as  their 
portion,  as  if  to  declare  that  the  reconciled  worshipper, 
now  at  peace  with  Grod,  had  true  sympathy  with,  and 
love  towards,  the  priest,  by  whose  instrumentality  this 
blessing  came  to  him.  We  are  taught,  in  this  manner, 
the  worshipper's  affectionate  feelings  to  his  officiating 
priest — similar,  in  kind,  to  the  feeling  that  now  subsists 
between  a  pastor  whom  the  Spirit  anoints  to  preach  glad 
tidings  to  the  meek,  and  the  people  who  shout  for  joy  at 
the  voice.  At  the  same  time,  it  also  taught  the  redeemed 
sinner's  complete  devotion  of  heart  and  mind  to  Jesus, 
his  High  Priest,  who  procures  the  peace,  and  gives  the 
joy,  of  reconciliation. 

The  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  on  the  precious  stones 
that  were  placed  both  on  the  shoulder  and  on  the  breast 
of  the  high  priest,  seem  to  confirm  and  establish  this 
view.  For  we  seem  to  be  taught  the  affection  and  the 
poiver  of  the  priest,  in  the  engraved  stones  worn  on  the 
breast  and  the  shoulder. 

The  waving  of  it  was  an  action  designed  to  show 
publicly  that  the   thing  waved  was  given  over  to  Grod. 

7 


146  SPECIAL  RULES  FOR  THE   PRIESTS. 

The  priest  lifted  it  up,  and  probably  moved  it  from  east 
to  west,  from  north  to  south,  as  if  to  say  that  all  ends  of 
the  earth  might  be  witnesses  that  this  was  now  given 
up  to  God.  The  whole  heart,  open,  full,  entire,  is  devo- 
ted to  the  Lord. 

Vers,  32,  33.  "  And  the  right  shoulder  shall  ye  give  unto  the  priest 
for  an  heave-offering  of  the  sacrifices  of  your  peace-offerings.  He 
among  the  sons  of  Aaron,  that  offereth  the  blood  of  the  peace- 
offerings,  and  the  fat,  shall  have  the  right  shoulder  for  his  part." 

The  right  shoulder^  as  well  as  the  breast,  is  presented  ; 
for  there  must  be  hand  and  heart  together  in  a  full  dedi- 
cation to  the  Lord.  It  is  the  shoulder^  as  being  that 
which  bore  the  burden ;  and  the  right  shoulder,  as  that 
had  most  strength  to  support  a  burden.  A  true  Israelite, 
in  the  enjoyment  of  reconciliation,  felt  himself  bound  to 
help  the  priest  with  heart  and  hand,  because  he  was  the 
Lord's  minister  to  him  for  good.  He  would  daily  make 
supplication  for  him,  that  his  soul  might  be  "  satiated 
with  fatness"  as  he  handled  the  types,  and  might  never 
grow  weary  in  his  work ;  that  he  might  be  able,  also,  to 
tell  a  waiting  people  somewhat  of  the  wonders  he  saw. 
For,  I  suppose,  the  priest  often  spoke  to  the  worshippers, 
and  directed  their  eye  to  the  person  of  Him  who  was  to 
come — to  Him  whose  glorious  form  was  as  yet  hid  amid 
the  drapery  of  the  earthly  sanctuary. 

But,  besides  this,  the  true  worshipper  hereby  presented 
himself  to  the  Grreat  High  Priest,  saying  in  a  manner, 
"  Here  is  my  person,  soul  and  body  ;  pour  into  my  heart 
all  thy  spirit,  and  put  thy  yoke  upon  my  willing  shoulder, 
for  thou  hast  redeemed  me." 

And  yet  once  more.  It  showed  forth  Christ,  our  peace- 
ofFering,*^  presenting  himself  to  the  Father,  heart  and 

*  Some  (see  specially  Edzardus,  in  Note  33,  in  his  Latin  translation  and 


CHAPTER  VII.  147 

hand,  to  do  the  Father's  will.  In  full  sympathy  with 
his  Father's  will,  and  full  co-operation  with  him  in  one 
grand  design  of  redemption,  he  presents  himself  as  "  our 
Peacey  And  herein  is  the  security  of  our  peace  that 
he  and  the  Father  are  one  in  counsel,  purpose,  love,  and 
action. 

Once  more.  These  portions  are  given  to  the  priests 
directly  by  the  Lord,  because  the  priests  had  no  lot  or 
inheritance  assigned  them  in  Israel.  But  this  mode  of 
providing  for  their  wants  was  well  fitted  to  keep  them 
ever  looking  to  the  Lord  alone,  in  having  whom  they 
could  never  want.  For  truly  does  Augustine  say  (Ps. 
Ivi),  "  Q,uantum  libet  sis  avarus,  sufficit  tibi  Deus." 

Ver.  34.  "  For  the  wave-breast  and  the  heave-shoulder  have  I  taken 
of  the  children  of  Israel  from  off  the  sacrifices  of  their  peace- 
offerings,  and  have  given  them  unto  Aaron  the  priest  and  unto 
his  sons,  by  a  statute  forever  from  among  the  children  of  Israel." 

"  A  statute  forever.''''  To  mark  how  reasonable  it 
appeared  in  the  Lord's  eyes,  he  declares  that  this 
statute  shall  never  be  altered.  So  long  as  their  polity 
continued,  this  statute  must  remain  in  force.  The  un- 
alterable and  necessary  connection  between  reconciliation 
and  self-dedicatio7i  may  be  held  forth  in  this  everlasting 

comment  on  the  tract  of  the  Gemara,  "  Be  Idololatria")  try  to  find  types 
of  the  cross  in  the  heaving  and  waving  of  these  pieces.  They  think  it  is 
seen  in  waving  them  up  and  across.  And  they  go  to  other  similar  cere- 
monies, such  as  anointing  the  four  corners  of  the  altar  with  oil — putting 
blood  on  the  same — anointing  Aaron  and  his  sons  with  oil  on  hands,  feet, 
and  ears — putting  blood  on  them  in  the  same  manner — the  roasting  of  the 
Paschal  Lamb  on  the  spit  (which  the  JewB  say  was  always  of  wood) — the 
leaven  cakes  cut  in  pieces,  i.  e.,  "  decussatce  in  formam  X" — the  position  oi 
the  priest's  hands  when  lifting  them  up  to  bless — and  even  the  gatework 
of  the  inside  of  the  altar.  But  this  is  fancy.  The  brazen  serpent,  and 
the  "  man  hanged  on  the  tree  as  accursed,"  are  the  only  clear  types  of  the 
cross.    Psalm  xxii,  15,  is  a  prophecy,  not  a  type. 


148  SPECIAL  RULES  FOR  THE   PRIESTS. 

statute.  Indeed,  nothing  is  so  natural  to  the  reconciled 
soul,  enjoying  the  fellowship  of  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
as  this  complete  giving  up  of  heart  and  hand  to  him  that 
'' offered  the  bloods  (Ver.  33.)  For,  we  should  have 
noticed  that  these  are  the  due  of  "  Him  who  offered  the 
hlood^^^  as  if  to  keep  our  attention  fixed  on  the  fact,  that 
it  is  the  Redeemer's  blood  shed  for  us  that  has  given  him 
this  right  to  all  we  are  and  all  we  can  yield. 

''  I  have  takenP  The  Lord  himself  specially  appoints 
this  to  be  done,  and  speaks  of  his  appointment  as  one 
that  should  be  noticed  and  observed,  as  being  important 
in  his  eyes. 

GENERAL    REMARKS    ON  THE    PRECEDING    RULES. 

Vers.  35.  36.  "This  is  the  portion*  of  the  anointing  of  Aaron,  and  of 
the  anointing  of  his  sons,  out  of  the  offerings  of  the  Lord  made  by- 
fire,  in  the  day  when  he  presented  them  to  minister  unto  the  Lord 
in  the  priest's  office  ;  which  the  Lord  commanded  to  be  given  them 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  in  the  day  that  he  anointed  them,  by  a 
statute  forever  throughout  their  generations." 

More  literally,  "  This  is  the  anointing  of  Aaron  ;"  i.  e., 
this  is  what  is  involved  in  the  anointing.  This  is  the  lot 
and  portion  of  the  sons  of  Aaron,  and  of  Aaron  himself, 
the  moment  he  is  anointed.  These  are  the  privileges  and 
duties  connected  with  their  anointing.  AVillett  notes 
that  the  iwesenting  of  Aaron  and  his  sons  was  on  the 
first  day,  and  the  anointing  was  on  the  eighth  day. 

*  nn^ri-  Rosenmuller  proposes  to  adopt  for  this  word  the  Arabic 
sense,  "portion  measure;"  and  another  critic  finds  in  Ethiopic  the  word 
"myshach,"  a  feast,  which  might  give  a  good  sense  here.  But  the  word 
TV&I2,  "  to  anoint,"  and  its  derivatives,  is  a  term  belonging  to  the  Tabernacle, 
and  evidently  applied  to  its  usages  peculiarly.  An  "  air^  Xsyoiicvov"  would 
be  out  of  place  here. 

f  Hexapla  on  Levit. 


CHAPTER   VII.  149 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  Lord's  way  thus  to  state  all 
the  provision  made  for  a  duty  or  an  office  before  the 
person  actually  enters  upon  that  duty  or  office.  Hence 
he  tells  the  priests  what  shall  be  their  work,  and  what 
their  comforts  under  it,  before  they  are  consecrated. 
The  consecration  is  in  next  chapter.  It  is  like  his  way 
in  other  things,  and  like  his  way  in  the  G-ospel,  where 
he  first  sets  before  the  sinner  the  full  provision  made  for 
him,  in  privilege  and  in  duty  ;  and  thus,  by  exhibiting 
the  easy  yoke  and  the  light  burden,  leads  him  to  take  on 
all  gladly.  Everywhere  we  trace  the  hand  of  the  same 
God — the  Grod  and  Father  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ. 

Ver  3*7.  "  This  is  the  law  of  the  burnt-offering,  of  the  meat-offering,  and 
of  the  sin-offering,  and  of  the  trespass-offering,  and  of  the  conse- 
crations, and  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  peace-offerings." 

It  may  seem  out  of  place  to  insert  "  consecrations^^ 
here.  But  probably  the  reason  is  this  : — The  directions 
given  above,  in  regard  to  sin-offerings  (chap.  vi.  24)  and 
trespass-offerings  (chap.  vii.  1)  in  general,  were  to  be 
observed  also  in  the  case  of  these  offerings  being  presented 
by  the  priests  on  the  day  of  their  consecration.  Hence, 
by  inserting  the  clause  here,  "  this  is  the  law  of  the  conse- 
crations,''^ the  priests  were  made  aware  that,  in  regard 
to  themselves,  there  was  to  be  no  change  in  any  of  the 
rites  observed  in  sin-offerings  and  trespass-offerings. 

The  Lord  leaves  no  one's  duty  doubtful.  His  mind 
may  be  ascertained.  "If  it  were  not  so,  T  would  have 
told  you"  (John  xiv.  2),  may  be  held  as  a  general  rule. 

Ver.  38.  "  "Which  the  Lord  commanded  Moses  in  mount  Sinai,  in  the 
day  that  he  commanded  the  children  of  Israel  to  offer  their  oblations 
unto  the  Lord,  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai." 


150  SPECIAL  EULES  FOR  THE   PRIESTS. 

This  reminds  us,  again,  that  the  mode  of  receiving 
atonement  is  revealed  by  God  to  the  sinner.  The  need 
of  atonement  was  made  known  by  G-od  on  Sinai,  when 
he  so  awfully  alarmed  the  camp.  Then,  that  there  was 
forgiveness  with  him — atonement — was  made  known. 
And  now,  the  mode  of  receiving  and  applying  it  has  been 
made  known — all  by  Grod  himself.  We,  who  are  in  this 
wilderness,  are  taught  still  by  the  same  G-od  in  the  same 
way.  The  law  from  Sinai  awakens  ;  then  the  Mediator's 
message  to  us,  from  the  same  Sinai,  gives  peace.  Jesus, 
who  had  the  law  of  G-od  "  within  his  heart"  (Psalm  xL, 
8,  "in  the  midst  of  his  bowels"),  not  merely  in  his  hands, 
like  Moses,  comes  down  from  fellowship  with  the  Father 
to  lead  the  sinner  to  the  very  communion  he  enjoyed 
himself.  He  leads  us,  by  his  blood,  above  all  the  clouds 
and  thunders  of  the  hill,^  to  see  "  the  body  of  heaven  in 
its  clearness,  with  the  pavement  of  sapphire-stone,"  and 
to  the  G-od  of  Israel  himself,  who  is  well  pleased,  and 
lays  no  hand  but  the  hand  of  love  on  these  "  nobles  of 
Israel"  lifted  up  from  the  dunghill  to  take  their  place 
among  the  princes  of  his  people.  Here,  then,  let  us  eat 
and  drink  ;  on  that  very  spot  let  us  eat  "  hidden  manna," 
and  drink  "  the  water  of  life." 


It  may  be  suitable  here  to  inquire  what  is  the  meaning 
of  a  phrase  occurring  not  unfrequently,  "  sacrifices  of 
righteousness.''^  (See  Psalm  iv.  5,  and  Psalm  li.  19.) 
The  expression  is  taken  from  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy, 
chap,  xxxiii.  19,  and  means  sacrifices  presented  in  a  right 
way.  What  Malachi  (chap.  iii.  3)  speaks  of  as  done 
^1^'^^^)  ''  ill  righteousness,"  these  other  passages  express 

*  As  typified  more  fully  in  Exod.  xxiv. 


CHAPTER  VII.  151 

by  calling  them  "  sacrifices  of  righteousness."  The  form 
p'lS  'innt  is  phraseology  quite  authorized  by  p'lS  ^^\^'n 
(Lev.  xix.  36),  "balances  of  righteousness,"  &c. 

The  passage  in  Psalm  iv.  5,  occurs  in  beautiful  con- 
nection. The  context  tells  of  the  godly  man  set  apart  by 
the  Lord  as  his  peculiar  treasure  ;  and  whenever  this 
treasure  is  in  peril,  the  Lord  at  once  hastens  to  help. 
(Yer.  3.)  The  man  thus  kept,  is  one  who  lives  in  holy 
awe — one  who  searches  out  the  leaven,  and  spreads  it  out 
before  Grod.  (Yer.  4.)  In  so  doing,  he  is  led  to  use  the 
appointed  sacrifices,  and  there  he  finds  repose,  resting  as 
a  pardoned  man.     (Yer.  5.) 

Not  less  beautiful  is  Psalm  li.  16,  17,  which  speaks  of 
another  kind  of  sacrifice  at  first  view — "  The  sacrifices 
of  God  are  a  broken  spirit.''''  David,  newly  forgiven,  and 
wondering  at  the  grace  which  cleansed  him  from  foul 
adultery,  and  the  crimson  stains  of  murder  and  deceit, 
inquires,  after  all  this,  What  shall  I  render  unto  the 
Lord  for  all  his  benefits  ?  How  shall  I  ever  recompense 
such  free  love,  such  overflowing  grace  ?  This  is  evidently 
the  secret  train  of  feeling  that  led  to  ver.  16,  "  For  thou 
desirest  not  sacrifice^''''  &c.  If  mere  gifts  of  lambs  or 
oxen  would  sufficiently  express  my  gratitude,  then  I  would 
give  them.  There  is  not  a  lamb  in  my  flock,  or  an  ox  in 
my  stall,  that  I  would  spare.  But  that  is  not  what  thou 
desirest  as  a  proof  of  true  thankfulness.  There  is  a  better 
thank-oflering  still.  Let  me  walk  softly  all  my  days. 
Let  me  give  thee  "  a  broken  heart,''^  i.  e.,  let  me  cherish, 
all  my  days,  that  holy,  tender  frame  of  spirit  that  feels 
for  thy  honor,  and  loveth  thee  so  intensely  as  to  be  broken- 
hearted when  thou  art  wronged  I 


Cljt  ^^ritstjjnn^  entering  m  ttjtir  dDffirt. 


"the  law  maketh  men  high  priests  which  have  infirmity;  but  the 

WORD    OF    the    oath,  WHICH  WAS    SINCE    THE    LAW,  MAKETH   THE    SON,  WHO  IS 
CONSECRATED  FOR  EVERMORE." Heb.  vii.  28. 


The  priesthood  in  Israel  had  nothing  in  common  with 
the  priesthood  of  Papal  Rome.  The  priests  are  for  the 
people,  not  the  people  for  the  priests.  The  people  are 
first  attended  to  ;  then  the  priests.  Neither  was  there  a 
shadow  of  Erastia7iism  ;  for  the  ruler,  Moses,  command- 
ed nothing  to  Aaron  and  his  sons  except  what  the  Lord 
revealed  and  sent  him  to  tell.  And  the  Lord,  in  these 
ordinances  regarding  the  priesthood,  gave  a  shadow  of 
the  heavenly  transactions  between  the  Father  and  the 
Son.     (Owen.) 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Ver.  1 .  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Take  Aaron  and 
his  sons  with  him,  and  the  garments,  and  the  anointing  oil,  and  a 
bullock  for  the  sin-offering,  and  two  rams,  and  a  basket  of  unleaven- 
ed bread ;  and  gather  thou  all  the  congregation  together  unto  the 
door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation." 

As  the  sacrifices  are  ever  leading  us  to  the  great  altar 
of  brass,  and  as  the  continual  washings  that  are  men- 
tioned in  this  chapter  will  be  ever  turning  us  to  the  laver 


CHAPTER  VIII.  153 

of  brass,  let  us  here,  for  a  moment,  fix  our  eye  upon 
them.  The  one  shows  us  pardon  of  sin  by  Christ's  death, 
the  other  sliows  us  purification  of  heart  by  Clirist's 
Spirit.  Who  is  there  that  desires  not  these  blessings,  if 
he  is  an  awakened  man  at  all  ?  Who,  then,  would  not 
join  Israel,  going  up  to  the  feasts,  in  singing,  "  Hoio 
amiable  are  thy  tabernacles,  O  Lord  of  hosts  /"  (Ps. 
Ixxxiv.  1.)  Leave  your  sweet  retreat  under  the  fig-tree, 
Nathanael,  leave  your  delicious  vineyard,  and  your  gar- 
den that  blooms  like  another  Eden,  and  come  thou  up  to 
the  courts  of  the  tabernacle.  A  sin-convinced  soul  will 
find  what  it  needs.  Lo !  that  altar.  Bathe  thy  con- 
science there ;  for  the  blood  there  showeth  the  Saviour's 
death  till  he  come  !  And  next  refresh  thy  cleansed  con- 
science at  the  laver.  For  there  the  same  Messiah  holds 
forth  to  thee  his  Spirit.  He  that  comes  to  the  altar  may 
go  on  to  the  laver.  "  He  that  believeth  on  me,  out  of 
him  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water." 

But  why  is  there  such  a  singular  peculiarity  in  the 
construction  of  both  altar  and  laver  ?  The  former  was 
covered  with  the  brass  of  the  censers  that  had  been  held 
in  the  polluted  hands  of  Korah,  Dathan,  and  his  company 
(Numbers  xvi.  38) ;  and  the  latter  was  formed  of  the 
brass  that  was  obtained  from  the  mirrors  of  the  women 
(Exod.  xxxviii.  8)  who  worshipped  at  the  tabernacle  door, 
and  had  been  used  but  too  frequently  to  gratify  the  un- 
holy feelings  called  forth  by  "  the  lust  of  the  eye." 

I.  The  brazen  censers  of  Korah  and  his  company  con- 
trasted very  evidently  with  the  golden  censer  of  a  true 
priest.  The  gold  of  the  latter  marked  its  heavenly  char- 
acter and  use,  as  we  see  also  in  the  gold  of  the  candle- 
stick, of  the  table,  and  of  the  mercy-seat,  or  in  the  golden 

streets  and  golden  harps  of  New  Jerusalem.     But  never- 

7# 


154:      THE  PRIESTHOOD   ENTERING  ON  THEIR  OFFICE. 

theless,  out  of  these  polluted  materials,  the  Lord  forms 
the  altar  where  atonement  for  sin  was  to  be  made.=^ 
Shittim-wood  (very  durable  and  incorruptible)  is  spread 
over  with  plates  of  this  brass.  Is  not  this  fitted  to  remind 
us  that  Christ  had  the  "likeness  of  sinful  flesh" — the 
shittim-wood  being  veiled  and  hid  by  the  brass  ?  In  the 
very  nature  that  sinned  so  presumptuously  the  Lord  Jesus 
appears ;  and,  wearing  that  nature,  presents  in  it  his 
offering — only,  in  his  person  it  was  so  pure  that  the 
"  altar  sanctified  the  gift."  When  he  arose  and  ascended, 
he  threw  off  this  obscurity,  and  was  "  the  golden  altar." 

II.  The  laver,  made  of  the  mirror  brass,  held  pure 
water,  which  was  the  type  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  our 
very  nature,  which  in  our  hands  serves  only  the  purposes 
of  sin  and  vanity,  the  Redeemer  exhibited  purity — the 
very  purity  of  the  Holy  G-host,  who  dwelt  in  him  without 
measure  !  He  took  the  brass  from  the  women  of  Israel. 
(Exod.  xxxviii.  8.)  He  took  our  true  nature  from  the 
womb  of  the  Yirgin ;  and,  assuming  it  to  himself,  there- 
by made  it  holy.  And  so  it  became  a  holy  vessel  for  the 
Spirit  to  fill.  Here,  then,  is  Jesus  made  unto  us  of  Grod 
^^ sanctificoMon'''  as  well  as  "righteousness."  And  even 
when  the  ^^  sea  of  brass'''  appears  in  Solomon's  temple,  it 
seems  to  be  still  Christ,  who  was  in  the  likeness  of  sinful 
flesh,  the  source  of  the  world's  holiness. 

Perhaps  we  might  take  another  view  of  the  general 
arrangement  of  these  Courts.  May  we  not  say  that  there 
is  something  here  to  remind  us  of  each  person  of  the  God- 
head ?  In  yonder  Holy  of  Holies  behind  the  veil,  in  light 
accessible,  is  the  symbol  of  the  Father.    Then,  at  yonder 

*  When  in  contrast  with  the  gold,  brass  is  a  symbol  of  inferior  nature ; 
see  Daniel's  image.  But  when  in  contrast  with  earthy  or  crumbling  dust, 
it  may  be  a  symbol  of  durability ;  see  Zech.  vi.  1. 


CHAPTER  VIII.  155 

gate,  meeting  the  view  of  every  inquirer,  is  the  Altar  of 
Sacrifice,  the  symbol  of  the  Son,  who  said,  "  Lo,  I 
come."  And  between,  stands  the  laver  of  pure  water, 
the  symbol  of  the  Holp  Ghost.  The  whole  might  be 
called  ''  Ephes.  ii.  18,  written  in  sacred  hieroglyphics." 
Bi/  him  we  have  both  access  through  one  Spirit  unto  the 
Father. 

Now,  let  us  hasten  forward  to  the  scene  before  us. 

We  may  view  the  scene  all  at  once ;  its  details  are 
given  afterwards.  God  commands  Aaron  and  his  sons 
to  approach  the  altar,  in  sight  of  all  the  people,  with  all 
the  furniture  of  consecration.  Let  us  see  them  walking 
toward  the  altar,  conscious  of  the  awfully  solemn  situation 
in  which  they  are  placed.  The  deep  thou ghtfuln ess  of 
the  father  is  reflected  upon  his  four  attending  sons,  whose 
souls  cannot  but  tremble  when  they  see  the  trembling 
step  of  their  aged  father,  though  accustomed  to  meet 
with  God.  Moses  comes  with  them,  bearing  the  things 
needed  for  consecration.  You  see  the  garments  (Exod. 
xxviii.  2)  of  the  priesthood,  ready  to  cover  their  persons, 
as  the  skins  clothed  Adam  and  Eve,  in  type  of  imputed 
righteousness.  Notice,  also,  the  anointing  oil  (Exod. 
XXX.  23),  the  sight  of  which  reminds  the  priest  of  their 
need  of  the  Spirit  of  all  grace.  Close  by,  at  their  side, 
stands  the  bullock  for  a  sin-offering,  on  whose  head  they 
are  this  day  to  lay  their  sins  ;  and  beside  the  bullock  are 
tioo  rams,  one  for  the  burnt-oflering — such  as  their  father 
Abraham  offered  in  room  of  his  son  Isaac — the  other  for 
consecration  (ver.  22).  Thus  they  stand  in  presence  of 
types  that  all  speak  of  their  sin  and  their  poverty  of  soul ; 
they  cannot  lift  their  eye  without  seeing  sin  gazing  them 
in  the  face.  And,  to  complete  all,  there  is  a  basket  of 
unleavened  breads  which  they  are  to  present  as  a  type  of 


156      THE   PRIESTHOOD   ENTERING   ON  THEIR   OFFICE. 

their  whole  persons  and  substance  being  devoted  full  and 
entire  to  G-od,  without  mixture  of  leaven.  The  whole 
congregation  look  on  upon  this  spectacle  in  silence.  It 
is  the  priesthood  entering  on  their  office  !  wherein  they 
are  to  stand  ever  after,  offering  Israel's  sacrifices  and 
bringing  back  the  news  of  reconciliation. 

Although  not  so  personally  interested,  yet  with  a  still 
deeper  wonder  and  concern,  the  holy  congregation  of 
heaven  stood  round  when  the  Son  of  G-od  was  about  to 
enter  on  his  priestly  office,  saying, ''  Sacrifice  and  offering 
thou  wouldst  not,  but  a  body  hast  thou  prepared  for  me. 
.  .  .  Lo  !  I  come  to  do  thy  will,  0  God."    (Heb.  x.  5-7.) 

Moses  acts  here  for  G-od.  Philo  and  some  of  the  Jews 
call  him  (vide  Patrick)  High  Priest^  because  of  his  act- 
ings in  regard  to  the  tabernacle.  But  it  is  far  better  to 
regard  him  as  somewhat  like  Melchizedek — king  and 
mediator  and  prophet.  He  is  peculiar,  however  ;  for  it  is 
not  "  king  and  priest,"  but  "  king  and  mediator."  So 
many  types  did  it  require  to  set  forth  Jesus. 

Ver.  4.  "  And  Moses  did  as  the  Lord  commanded  him ;  and  the  assem- 
bly was  gathered  together  unto  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  tho 
congregation." 

No  sooner  does  Moses  hear  than  he  goes  forth  to  obey ; 
and  no  sooner  do  the  people  hear  than  they  are  seen 
gathering  themselves  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle.  All 
Israel  was  interested  in  their  priesthood,  and  should  know 
how  their  priests  were  qualified  for  their  office ;  even  as 
all  earth  should  look  on  and  see  the  qualifications  of  the 
great  High  Priest,  who  gave  himself,  saying,  "  Lo !  I 
come." 

Vers,  5,  6.  "  And  Moses  said  unto  the  congregation,  This  is  the  thing 
which  the  Lord  commanded  to  be  done.  And  Moses  brought  Aaron 
and  his  sons,  and  washed  them  with  water," 


CHAPTER   VIII.  157 

Moses  stood  by  the  laver,  and  said,  "  This  is  the  thing 
which  the  Lord  commanded  to  be  dons."  And  so  saying, 
he  called  Aaron  and  his  sons  to  come  near.  He  then 
laved  the  pure  water  upon  them,  to  intimate  that  they 
must  be  clean  and  holy.  And  as  the  water  used  was 
water  from  the  laver,  the  type  signified  that  it  was  the 
Holy  Grhost  w^ho  was  to  give  them  this  purity.  After 
this  day,  they  needed  not  to  wash  their  bodies,  but  only 
their  feet,  when  it  happened  that  their  feet  were  soiled 
during  services,  and  their  hands,  when  they  were  soiled 
at  the  altar.  Our  Lord  has  been  supposed  to  allude  to 
this  in  John  xiii.  10,  "  He  that  is  washed  needeth  not  save 
to  wash  his  feet ^  but  is  clean  every  whit.''''  A  man,  after 
being  in  the  bath,  is  clean ;  only  his  feet  may  be  soiled 
on  the  floor  as  he  steps  along.  So,  a  priest,  after  this 
washing  of  his  person  on  the  consecration-day,  is  clean ; 
only  he  may  need  to  wash  his  feet  or  hands  again.  Being 
publicly  led  by  Grod  to  the  full  Spirit,  and  shown  the  liv- 
ing waters,  he  has  a  right  to  return  as  often  as  his  office 
may  call  for  a  renewal  of  the  application.  That  cleansing 
water,  or  sanctification,  needs  to  be  used  on  all  exigen- 
cies ;  and  how  appropriate,  on  entering  on  office,  to  show 
him  the  full  supply  ! 

When  our  Lord  used  the  words  in  John  xiii.  8,  he 
seems  to  say,  "  I  am  doing  to  you  as  was  done  to  the 
priests ;  if  I  wash  thee  not,  thou  hast  no  part  with  me. 
I  am  thus,  under  a  figure,  preparing  you  for  immediate 
duty,  like  priests  in  the  temple.  You  are  consecrated  to 
me  already ;  but  often  will  you  need  to  apply  the  water 
again  to  your  feet."  This  is  true  of  all  believers  who 
are  "priests  to  Grod."* 

*  others  suppose  that  allusion  to  the  hath  there  is  the  true  one,  and  the 
cleansing  is  pardon.  But  at  Passover  time,  temple-allusions  were  far  more 
natural. 


158      THE  PRIESTHOOD  ENTERING-  ON  THEIR  OFFICE. 

Ver.  7.  "  And  he  put  upon  him  the  coat,  and  girded  him  with  the  gir- 
dle, and  clothed  him  with  the  robe,  and  put  the  ephod  upon  him, 
and  he  girded  him  with  the  curious  girdle  of  the  ephod,  and  bound 
it  unto  him  therewith." 

Besides  'purification^  the  priests  must  be  endowed  with 
peculiar  gifts  and  graces.  Our  Grreat  High  Priest  must 
be  not  only  "holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  separate  from 
sinners,"  but  also  furnished  with  extraordinary  and  com- 
plete endowments. 

The  coat  and  girdle^  as  well  as  an  ephod  and  a  mitre, 
of  less  costly  material  and  less  attractive  form,  were  worn 
by  all  the  sons  of  Aaron.  In  them  we  are  taught,  that 
any  one  who  appears  as  priest  at  all  must  be  clothed  in 
righteousness  and  girt  for  active  obedience ;  and  must 
have,  in  addition,  a  special  covering  for  those  shoulders 
which  were  to  bear  the  weight  of  a  people's  guilt,  and 
that  brow  which  was  to  be  lifted  up  in  confession.  But 
the  high  priest  was  marked  out  more  peculiarly  still.  He 
has  as  much  as  the  other  priests  to  mark  him  out ;  but 
he  has  more  also — and  it  is  his  dress  that  is  specially 
noticed  here.  * 

In  speaking  of  these  garments,  it  is  right  to  classify 
them,  or  at  least  to  see  the  system  observed  in  the  ar- 
rangement of  them. 

1.  The  Ephod  is  to  be  considered  the  original  dress  of 
a  priest.  By  itself,  and  without  any  other  mark,  it  was 
the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  one  bearing  a  priestly 
office.  Its  simplest  form  was  that  of  a  robe,  flung  over 
the  shoulders  (t^rw^/t?,  in  the  Sept.),  made  of  linen.  Per- 
haps its  pattern  was  that  significant  clothing  of  sacrificial 
skins  cast  over  Adam  by  G-od  (Gren.  iii.  21),  to  cover  his 
sinful  person.  The  significance  of  it  was,  q.  d.,  they 
need  to  be  covered  who  approach  Grod.      If  seraphim 


CHAPTEE  VIII.  159 

cover  their  feet  and  face  before  G-od,  much  more  children 
of  men  must  approach  with  holy  reverence.  They  must 
have  a  hidina:  or  coverins:  for  their  sins.  This  seems  to 
be  the  plain  object  of  the  ephod.  It  is  thus,  accordingly, 
that  we  find  priests  described  very  frequently,  e.  g.,  1 
Sam.  ii.  28;  xiv.  3  ;  xxi.  9 ;  xxii.  18  ;  xxiii.  6  ;  xxx.  7. 
When  David  said,  '^  Bring  hither  the  ephod.''''  the  mean- 
ing was,  that  the  priest  should  put  on  his  characteristic 
dress,  and  inquire  at  Grod.  "  Having  a  priest  over  the 
house  of  God,  let  us  draw  near,''^  would  be  the  New 
Testament  language.  Hence  we  understand  Gideon^s 
ephod.  (Judg.  viii.  27.)  It  was  well-meant,  though  fol- 
lowed with  evil  consequences.  The  ephod  was  to  show 
the  sinner's  way  to  God  by  a  Mediator  ;  and  the  splen- 
dor of  this  ephod  was  to  have  attracted  Israel's  eyes  to 
the  true  way  of  approaching  Jehovah  ;  and  so  keep  them 
from  self-righteousness  after  their  victories,  and  from  the 
gods  of  the  Heathen.  But,  being  a  scheme  of  human 
wisdom — like  the  invention  of  rites  and  ceremonies  in 
some  Christian  Churches — it  led  to  sin.  Hence,  also,  the 
sin  of  Micah's  ephod,  in  Judges  xvii.  The  words  of 
Hosea  iii.  4,  mean  that  Israel  should  no  longer  have  even 
the  simplest  elements  of  a  priesthood  :  as  we  see  at  this 
day  !  It  may  be  objected,  however,  that  Samuel  (1  Sam. 
ii.  18)  and  David  (2  Sam.  vi.  14)  wore  a  linen  ephod, 
and  they  were  not  priests.  True  :  but  let  it  be  observed, 
that  both  these  men  of  G-od  were  in  some  respects  extra- 
ordinary, as  if  pointed  out  to  us  as  types,  in  regard  to 
office.  Samuel  wds  Judge  in  the  land,  as  well  as  prophet ; 
and  though  not  of  Aaron's  line,  God  authorized  him  to 
act  as  priest,  also,  on  many  occasions — a  threefold  office 
in  his  one  person !  So,  also,  David  combines  the  same 
three  offices,  the  king  and  prophet  fully,  the  priest  It/  more 


160      THE   PKIESTHOOD  ENTEEING  ON  THEIE   OFFICE. 

dimly — a  threefold  office  in  liis  one  person  ;  and  yet  he  is 
not  of  Aaron's  line  !  Is  there  not  a  type  here  ?  Did  it 
not  foreshadow  our  Messiah,  in  his  threefold  offices  ? 
Upon  the  whole,  there  seems  little  doubt  that  the  ephod 
was  the  rudiment al  dress  of  the  priesthood.  And  in  this 
light,  it  is  interesting  to  see  that  the  onyx-stones,  on 
which  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  were  engraven, 
were  fixed  "  on  the  shoulders  of  the  ephod."  (Exod. 
xxviii.  12.) 

2.  We  now  come  to  the  second  stage  in  the  inquiry. 
In  addition  to  this  simple  original  dress,  the  Lord  com- 
manded Moses  to  provide  for  every  priest  of  Aaron's  line 
(Exod.  xxviii.  5)  a  broidered  coat^  with  its  girdle,  and 
trowsers  for  the  limbs,  all  which  were  to  be  worn  below 
the  ephod,  covering  closely  the  whole  body  of  the  priest. 
This  coat  is  said  to  have  been  without  a  seam  {^QQacpog) 
like  our  Lord's,  John  xix.  23.  Is  there  not  here  an  inti- 
mation of  our  need  of  very  complete  clothing,  in  order  to 
appear  before  Grod  ?  The  Lord  multiplies  the  types  of 
our  need  by  this  provision,  while  he  shows  our  need  sup- 
plied in  the  priest.  And,  at  the  same  time,  he  ordered 
that  the  same  priests  should  wear  "  bonnets  for  ornament 
and  beauty ^^^  as  if  to  say  that  they,  whoso  persons  were 
thus  fully  clothed,  would  be  so  acceptable  in  his  sight 
that  they  need  not  be  ashamed  to  lift  up  their  face  before 
God.  When  some  of  the  priests  at  Calvary  saw  the 
seamless  robe  of  Jesus  in  the  soldiers'  hands,  must  they 
not  have  felt  a  flash  of  conviction  ?  It  was  God  bring- 
ing to  light  his  priestly  character  in  that  hour. 

3.  But  yet  more  was  to  be  shown.  The  full-length 
portrait  of  our  Priest  and  Substitute  was  not  yet  drawn. 
Accordingly,  the  High  Priest  was  to  be  one  superior  to 
all  his  brethren.     He  claims  all  the  coverings  that  be- 


CHAPTER  VIII.  161 

longed  to  them  ;  only,  in  his  case,  it  is  made  of  finer 
materials.  All  his  garments  are  '^/or  glory  and  beauty,''^ 
to  set  off  the  person  of  him  who  is  to  make  complete 
atonement.  His  ephod  has  a  "  curious  girdle^''^  i.  e.,  a 
girdle  wrought  and  embroidered  with  skilful  workman- 
ship. With  this  girdle  he  binds  up  his  ephod,  and  goes 
forward  to  work  for  God,  unentangled  and  undistracted. 
The  rare  workmanship  of  it  prefigured  the  pre-eminent 
qualifications  of  the  Lord  Jesus — ^his  zeal  more  fervent 
and  pure,  more  beautiful  in  its  acts  and  stronger  in  its 
efforts,  than  any  ever  seen  among  the  children  of  men. 
Every  quality  is  in  its  proper  place  ;  nothing  was  out  of 
proportion  ;  all  was  graceful.  •'  He  bound  to  hhn  the 
curious  girdled 

But  this,  and  the  fine  quality  of  the  vestments  already 
named,  was  only  the  beginning  of  the  high  priest's  pre- 
eminence in  the  dress  he  wore,  the  clothing  of  office. 
Next,  we  find  a  robe,  called  ''  the  robe  of  ephod^^  (^^2?^). 
It  was  worn  below  the  ephod  ;  it  reached  down  to  the 
feet,  and  at  the  feet  was  set  with  a  row  of  bells  and 
pomegranates  alternately.  Is  there  not  here  a  further 
hint,  or  rather  a  plain  intimation,  that  in  a  full  priest 
there  must  not  only  be  nothing  wanting,  but  there  must 
be  something,  also,  to  spare — a  superfluity  of  righteous- 
ness to  cover  the  needy  ?  He  must  have  fold  upon  fold 
of  the  pure  linen,  for  he  needs  a  righteousness  ''  like  the 
waves  of  the  sea."  And  these  bells,^  like  the  bells  in 
Zech.  xiv.  20,  speak  to  the  ear,  giving  notice  of  his  ap- 
proach ;  while  the  pomegranates  speak  to  the  eye,  tell- 
ing that  he  comes  laden  with  Canaan-fruit  for  those  that 

*  It  is  interesting  to  find,  in  the  British  Museum,  small  bells,  about  an 
inch  in  diameter,  and  nearly  of  the  shape  of  a  pomegranate,  brought  from 
Egyptian  tombs. 


162      THE  PEIESTHOOD  ENTERING  ON  THEIR  OFFICE. 

hunger  and  thirst  for  righteousness.  His  is  a  robe  un- 
soiled,  though  it  touches  the  ground.  Its  pomegranates 
proclaim  that  it  is  rich  in  righteousness  to  the  very  skirts, 
while  its  bells  warn  off'  the  approach  of  pollution.  This 
is  the  robe,  so  peculiarly  characteristic  of  the  high  priest  ; 
the  "  nod7]gTjg^^  of  Rev.  i.  13,  in  which  our  Lord  appears, 
thereby  proclaiming  himself  to  be  the  true  Aaron.  Be- 
sides, being  "  all  of  blue,^^  it  had  a  heavenly  tinge — the 
*'  sky-tinctured  grain"  pointing  to  the  firmament. 

But  there  remained  still  something  to  be  put  on  which 
might  be  superior  to  "  the  bonnets"  of  the  common 
priests,  and  would  yet  more  significantly  declare  that  the 
high  priest  was  accepted  of  the  Lord.  There  was,  there- 
fore, a  mitre  (ver.  9)  on  his  brow,  and  a  breastplate  (ver. 
8)  of  very  singular  use  and  form,  having  on  it  four  rows 
of  precious  stones,  and  in  each  row  the  names  of  three 
of  the  tribes  of  Israel. 

Ver.  8.     "  And  he  put  the  breastplate  upon  him :  also  he  put  in  the 
breastplate  the  Urim  and  the  Thummim." 

Israel  now  saw  their  name — the  name  of  each  tribe — 
blazing  on  the  precious  stones  of  the  breastplate,  as  Moses 
lifted  it  up  to  bind  upon  Aaron's  heart."^     They  see  that 

*  It  is  curious  to  notice  a  connection  between  JVew  Jerusalem  glories 
and  the  breastplate,  and  yet  more,  to  observe  that  both  point  back  to  Eden. 
It  may  thus  be  shown.  The  first  precious  stone  mentioned  in  the  Bible  is 
the  onyx-stone  (Gen.  ii.  12),  and  it  was  this  stone  that  formed  the  "  stones 
of  memorial"  on  the  shoulders  of  the  high  priest's  ephod  (Exod.  xxviii.  9), 
on  which  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  were  engraven.  Then,  farther, 
and  more  directly  as  to  the  breastplate,  there  is  mention  in  Ezekiel  (who 
is  the  prophet  that  describes  the  cherubim,  and  most  frequently  refers  to 
Eden)  of  the  following  precious  stones  having  been  in  Eden  : — "  The  sardius, 
topaz,  and  diamond,  the  beryl,  and  the  onyx,  and  the  jasper,  the  sapphire, 
the  emerald,  and  the  carbuncle."  (Chap,  xxviii.  13.)  It  would  almost  ap- 
pear as  if  the  breastplate  of  the  high  priest  pointed  back  to  Eden,  promis- 


CHAPTER  VIII.  163 

their  high  priest  carries  on  his  heart  the  memorial  of  every 
tribe,  a  token  of  his  love  for  all  and  care  for  all,  and  a 
pledge  that  he  will  offer  sacrifice  and  intercede  for  all. 
Jesus,  yet  more  fully  still,  bears  on  his  soul,  and  writes 
on  the  palms  of  his  hands,  the  name  of  every  individual 
of  all  that  innumerable  company  from  every  kindred,  and 
tongue,  and   people  given  him  by  the  Father — and  for 
each  he  offers  himself  as  the  Atonement,  and  for  each  he 
intercedes.     Oh,  how  unutterably  blessed  to  know  that 
it  is  so  I     "  Set  me.  Lord,  as  a  seal  upon  thine  heart" 
(Song  viii.  6),  may  well  be  our  prayer  ;  and  his  reply  is 
already  given,    "  I   pray  for   them !"      (.John  xvii.   9.) 
Truly  it  is  blessed  to  be  here,  fighting  with  Amalek  in 
the  valley,  when  our  Intercessor,  whose  hands  never  hang 
down,  is  pleading  for  us  before  the  throne.     How  quietly 
we  may  rest  ourselves,  free  from  all  care,  enjoying  the 
sleep  of  his  beloved,  when  we  know  that  our  Priest  bends 
over  us,  and,  pointing  the  Father  to  us,  prays,  "  Father, 
I  will  that  these  also  whom  thou  hast  given  me  be  with 
me  where  I  am." 

But  the  ''  Urim  and  ThummM''  are  on  the  breastplate 
of  the  high  priest.  "  What  are  these  ?"  The  first  word 
means  "  lig-JitSy^^  just  as  sun  and  moon  are  called  c^";i^x 
"  lights"  in  Ps.  cxxxvi.  7  ;  and  the  second  means  ^^  per- 
fection,^^ or,  perhaps,  ''perfect  rules'  The  terms  would 
be  appropriate  to  express  some  revelations  of  Grod's  mind 
and  directions  given  by  him ;  and,  accordingly,  much 
has  been  said  to  prove  that  these  terms  denote  the  laiv, 
or  two  tables  on  which  the  commandments  were  writ- 
ing to  God's  Israel  re-admission  into  its  glories ;  while  New  Jerusalem 
speaks  of  the  same,  presenting  to  the  redeemed  all,  and  more  than  all,  the 
glory  of  Paradise,  into  which  they  are  introduced  by  the  Lamb,  the  true 
High  Priest,  who  bears  their  names  on  his  heart. 


164      THE   PKIESTHOOD   ENTERING   ON   THEIR   OFFICE. 

ten.*  For  anything  we  know  these  may  have  been  en- 
graven on  precious  stones ;  but  the  point  to  be  observed 
is,  that  Moses  needed  to  get  no  description  of  them.  As 
in  the  case  of  the  cherubim,  which  were  known  as  em- 
blems of  redemption  ever  since  the  days  of  the  Fall ;  so 
here  there  was  no  need  of  special  description,  for  the 
things  were  known.  The  Lord  bids  him,  Exod.  xxviii. 
30,  ^^ ptit  THE  Urimand  Thummimon\  the  breastplate.'''' 
We  find  from  Exod.  xxxii.  15,  that  there  was  much 
writing  on  the  tablets  given  by  God  to  Moses.  Like  the 
seven-sealed  book,  they  were  written  ''on  both  sides  by 
the  finger  of  God.''''  The  Lord  in  Exod.  xxiv.  12,  spoke 
of  "  tables  of  stone,  and  a  law  and  comma^idments.^'' 
These  were  written  ere  Moses  went  up  ;  for  it  is  said, 
*'  WHICH  I  HAVE  WRITTEN."  They  wcrc  lying,  therefore, 
within  sight  when  Moses  went  up  to  meet  Grod  on  the 
hill ;  and  he  saw  them  engraven  in  some  form,  just  as 
John  saw  the  sealed  book  in  the  hands  of  him  that  sat 
on  the  throne.  Hence  it  is  we  might  account  for  the 
manner  in  which  Moses  was  told,  Exod.  xxviii.  30,  to 
put  "  THE  Urim"  on  the  breastplate.  The  Lord  referring 
to  the  "  law  and  commandments"  already  written,  and 
seen  by  Moses,  calls  them  ''the  lights  and  the  perfect 
rules''^  for  Israel ;  and  bids  him  place  them  on  the  breast- 
plate. How  this  was  done  we  know  not.  It  may  have 
been  simply  as  tablets,  or  in  the  form  of  a  roll.  Some 
even  think  that  this  may  be   "  the  volume  of  the  book." 

*  See  a  good  statement  of  this  in  Edzardus,  page  202,  of  his  notes  and 
translation  of  the  treatise  of  the  Gemara,  "  De  Avoda  Sara  seu  de  Idola- 
tria."  I  suppose  he  may  have  had  in  view  2  Cor.  iii.  Y.  "  The  ministra- 
tion of  death,  written  and  engraven  in  stones,  was  glorious."  The  whole 
subject  is  obscure. 

t  bx  "  on,"  not  "  in." 


CHAPTEE  VIII.  165'  ' 

*(Ps.  xl.  8.)  And  to  this  reference  is  supposed  to  be  made 
in  Psalm  xix.  where  "  the  law  of  the  Lord"  is  said  to  be 
^'' perfect  '^T'^'^^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^''commandment''^  to  be  the 
"  enliglitener  of  the  eyes,"  as  if  referring  to  d'^^^ix. 

Our  Lord  refers  to  the  breastplate,  if  not  to  the  Urim 
and  Thummim  also,  when  he  says  in  Psalm  xl.  8,  "  Thy 
law  is  within  my  hearV — not  merely  on  it.  And  this 
is  his  plea  in  our  behalf.  He  pleads  his  obedience  and 
sinks  our  disobedience  therein.  Pointing  to  us,  he  pleads 
as  a  favor  to  himself,  "  Lord,  withhold  not  thou  thy  ten- 
der mercies  from  me,"  (ver.  11) — identifying  us  with 
himself.     We  are  in  this  glorious  "  me." 

It  has  been  suggested  by  one  who  is  a  "  ready  scribe 
in  the  law  of  his  Grod"  that  the  stones  of  the  breastplate 
were  arranged  in  the  manner  in  which  the  tents  were 
pitched  round  the  ark.  Lightfoot  has  the  idea  that  the 
precious  stones  of  New  Jerusalem  (Rev.  xxi.)  were  placed 
in  such  a  way  that  there  were  three  layers  of  them  on 
each  side  of  the  square  city  ;  and  so  each  wall  exhibited 
three  varieties  of  precious  stones  in  its  structure.  This 
arrangement  corresponds  with  what  we  suppose  to  have 
been  the  arrangement  of  the  breastplate-stones.  The 
TJrim  and  Thummim  would  be  in  the  midst,  correspond- 
ing to  the  place  of  the  ark  ;  and  the  stones  in  rows  on 
each  of  the  four  sid'es.  If  so,  do  we  not  see  Israel  en- 
camped in  safety,  with  The  Laiv  in  the  midst  1  or,  in 
other  words,  with  The  Revealed  God  in  the  midst.  The 
redeemed  abide  secure  because  his  revealed  will  is  their 
rule. 

The  mode  of  consulting  the  Lord  by  the  Urim  is  un- 
certain. It  may  have  been  simply  this — the  priest  put 
on  the  breastplate  with  all  it  contained,  when  he  drew 
near  the  Lord's  presence.     And  this  was  very  appropri- 


166      THE   PEIESTHOOD  ENTERING  ON  THEIR  OFFICE. 

ate ;  for  the  TJrim  was  a  sign,  or  testimony  of  the  Lord 
being  in  the  midst  of  Israel,  ready  to  be  consulted  in  time 
of  need.     (1  Sam.  xxviii.  6  ;  Neh.  vii.  65.) 

Ver.  9.  "  And  he  put  the  mitre  upon  his  head  ;  also  upon  the  mitre,  even 
upon  his  forehead,  did  he  put  the  golden  plate,  the  holy  crown : 
as  the  Lord  commanded  Moses." 

There  would  be  a  thrill  of  deepening  interest  in  the 
assembled  Church  of  Israel  when  they  saw  the  hreaUplate 
put  on ;  but  not  less  so  when  the  mitre  was  put  on  his 
head,  and  the  arraying  of  the  high  priest  completed. 
Some  represent  the  "  golden  plate''''^  as  different  from  the 
'^  holy  crown  f  but  this  is  a  mistake  ;  these  are  but  two 
names  for  the  same  thing.  The  ''  golden  plate'''  was  no 
doubt  bound  round  the  head  like  a  diadem^  or  crown, 
though  it  was  only  half  a  circle,  encompassing  the  fore- 
front of  the  mitre.  On  this  diadem,  or  plate  of  gold, 
was  written,  ''^Holiness  to  the  Liord  f  and  hence  its 
name,  ''  the  holy  crown."  The  typical  meaning  seems 
to  be  this ;  our  High  Priest  atones  and  intercedes  and 
reconciles,  yet  does  all  to  the  glory  of  Jehovah's  holiness. 
The  manifestation  of  the  Divine  character  appears  in  the 
high  priest — love  to  man,  and  tender  mercies,  combined 
with  rich  displays  of  righteousness  and  holiness.  There 
is  not  one  frown,  not  one  look  of  terror  in  the  high  priest, 
though  there  is  purest  holiness.  The  deep  love  and  com- 
passion of  his  soul  make  that  holiness  appear  most  desi- 
rable. 

In  reference  to  this  scene,  and  to  any  such  that  were 
similar,  the  Psalmist  writes,  "I  will  clothe  her  priests 
with  salvation,  and  her  saints  shall  shout  aloud  for  joy." 
(Ps.  cxxxii.  16.)     The  eye  of  the  guilty  fell  upon  this 

*  See  e,  g.,  Warden  on  the  Types. 


CHAPTER  VIII.  167 

exhibition  of  Divine  love  and  righteousness  harmonized  ; 
and  their  heart  leapt  for  joy.  It  is  somew^hat  remarkable 
that  the  Church  itself  did  not  use  the  word  "  salvation^^ 
but  prayed  (ver.  9),  ''  Let  thy  priests  be  clothed  with 
righteousness^  and  let  thy  saints  shout  for  joy."  The 
conscience  of  the  believing  multitude  sought  for  right- 
eousness to  cover  their  guilt ;  this  was  the  uppermost 
desire  of  their  heart,  and  the  chief  suggestion  of  their 
conscience.  But  when  the  Lord  replies  to  them  in  verse 
16,  he  gives  more  than  merely  forgiveness;  he  sends 
"  salvation''''  in  its  fulness. 

Vers.  10,  11.  "And  Moses  took  the  anointing  oil,  and  anointed  the 
tabernacle  and  all  that  was  therein,  and  sanctified  them.  And  he 
sprinkled  thereof  upon  the  altar  seven  times,  and  anointed  the  altar 
and  all  his  vessels,  both  the  laver  and  his  foot,  to  sanctify  them." 

Aaron  was  now  for  a  time  left  alone.  Clothed  and 
arrayed  as  high  priest,  with  his  sons  at  his  side,  all  eyes 
gazed  upon  him.  Blessed  type  of  Jesus,  with  his  "  many 
sons"  (Heb.  ii.  10),  whom  all  creation  beholds  with 
wonder  and  delight !  And  that  the  high  priest  might 
arrest  every  eye,  he  is  left  alone,  like  Jesus  when  the 
voice  was  past  on  the  Transfiguration-hill.  "  Consider 
the  high  priest  of  your  profession  /"  is  the  voice  proceed- 
ing from  this  scene  to  every  believing  soul.  Ye  are  com- 
plete in  him.  And  why  look  ye  elsewhere,  self-righteous 
souls  ?  All  that  gives  peace,  all  that  can  speak  of  Grod 
reconciled,  is  here.  The  person  of  Immanuel^  and  what 
hangs  upon  that  person^  furnish  you  with  all  your  soul 
can  long  for. 

But,  meanwhile,  Moses  has  gone  into  the  tabernacle, 
and  is  busy  there.  Already  all  things  there  had  been 
sprinkled  with  blood,  according  to  the  remark  in  Heb. 
ix.  21,  though  at  what  precise  time  is  difficult  for  us  to 


168      THE  PEIESTHOOD  ENTEEING  ON  THEIR  OFFICE. 

say.  That  blood  had  cleansed  them :  and  now  the  oil 
sets  them  apart  for  holy  purposes.  The  dust  of  sin  having 
been  laid,  the  Spirit  breathes  freely  over  every  part  of 
the  tabernacle,  and  through  every  apartment.  The 
holiest  of  all,  as  well  as  the  altar ;  the  laver  and  ''  its 
foot,"  or  basin  into  which  its  waters  were  poured,  are 
solemnly  set  apart  to  the  Lord.  None  can  ever  claim  the 
use  of  them  again.  They  must  be  used  by  no  other  but 
the  Lord ;  nothing  must  be  done  with  them  but  what 
bears  directly  on  the  Lord's  glory.  This  is  "  sanctifying 
themP  Let  us  learn  what  we  should  be,  if  really  set 
apart  for  Grod. 

And  this  explains  to  us,  John  xvii.  19,  ^^For  their 
sakes  I  sanctify  myself^  that  they  also  might  be  sanc- 
tified through  the  truths  There  Jesus  speaks  of  himself 
as  like  a  temple  vessel,  or  like  the  holiest  of  all,  when 
set  apart  to  be  used  for  the  Lord's  purposes.  Just  as 
that  sanctuary  and  all  it  contained  was  to  be  used  only 
for  setting  forth  the  sinner's  way  to  God — so,  Jesus  of 
his  own  free-will  presented  himself  to  be  used  by  the 
Father  wholly  for  the  purpose  of  providing  for  the  sinner 
a  way  to  the  holy  Grod.  (3rlorious  truth !  The  use  for 
which  the  incarnate  Saviour  is  set  apart  is,  to  make  a 
way  for  sinners  to  G-od !  The  Father  used  him  in  this 
manner  in  coming  to  us ;  loe  are  to  use  him  thus  in 
going  to  the  Father  1  A  Saviour  set  apart  for  the  use 
of  sinners  I  No  angel  may  touch  that  Saviour — he  is 
not  for  angels.  But  the  blackest  soul  out  of  hell  may 
use  Him — he  is  for  the  unlimited  use  of  sinners ! 

We  thus  see  the  purpose  of  God  in  anointing ;  but 
now  we  see  yet  more  the  person  in  what  follows. 

Yer.  12.     "  And  he  poured  of  the  anointing  oil  upon  Aaron's  head,  and 
anointed  him,  to  sanctify  him." 


CHAPTER  VIII.  169 

This  is  typical  of  the  Spirit  fully  poured  out  on  Jesus 
to  set  him  apart  for  his  public  office — his  office  as  Saviour 
of  the  world.  Aaron  was  not  merely  sprinkled^  but  had 
the  oil  poured  out  in  full  measure  on  his  head.  To  this 
reference  is  made  in  Psalm  cxxxiii.  2,  "It  is  like  the 
precious  ointment  upon  the  head,  that  ran  down  upon 
the  beard,  even  Aaron's  beard,  that  went  down  to  the 
skirts  of  his  garments."  It  was  to  foreshow  that  Jesus 
was  to  have  the  fulness  of  the  Holy  Spirit  poured  upon 
him.  And  in  as  much  as  this  oil  was  composed  of  myrrh, 
cinnamon,  calamus,  and  cassia  (Exod.  xxx.  25),  the 
variety  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  gifts  and  grace  was  shown. 
In  that  Psalm,  the  unity  of  brethren — many  persons  yet 
one  soul  and  mind — is  compared  to  the  oil  composed  of 
such  varied  ingredients  as  cassia,  myrrh,  cinnamon,  and 
calamus,"^  and  yet  forming  one  sweet  fragrant  oil.  But 
besides  this  point  of  comparison  there  is  another,  viz., 
the  abundance  of  the  oil^  "that  ran  down  upon  the  beard 
of  Aaron,  that  went  down  to  the  skirts  of  his  garments" 
— or,  "to  the  collar  of  his  robe."  The  unity  of  brethren 
is  not  a  bare,  scanty  love,  but  is  overflowing  feeling, 
full  and  abundant  affection. 

Ver.  13.  "  And  Moses  brought  Aaron's  sons,  and  put  coats  upon  them, 
and  girded  them  with  girdles,  and  put  bonnets  upon  them ;  as  the 
Lord  commanded  Moses." 

The  priests  receive  girdles^  coats^  and  bonnets — all  of 
which  were  "  glorious  and  beautiful ^''^  for  so  Exod. 
xxviii.  2,  and  xxviii.  40.  But  they  must  look  up  to 
Aaron  ;  he  only  had  the  complete  title  to  enter  the  holiest 

*  In  Ps.  xlv.  8,  we  find,  "  All  thy  garments  smell  of  myrrh,  and  aloes, 
and  cassia."  I  suppose  " aloes''  comprehend  the  cinnamon  and  calamus. 
The  anointing  of  Messiah  in  that  Psalm  is  thus  pointed  out  as  done  with  the 
holy  oil. 

8 


170      THE  PKIESTHOOD  ENTEEING  ON  THEIR   OFFICE. 

of  all.  It  was  only  the  high  priest  that  had  "  Holiness 
to  the  Lord'''  on  his  mitre,  and  so  had  right  to  go  into 
the  holiest.  Christ's  "  many  sons  brought  to  glory"  owe 
all  to  him.  Their  clothing  is  his  in  miniature,  and,  stand- 
ing, two  on  his  right  hand  and  two  on  his  left,  himself 
in  the  midst,  form  a  representation  of  the  company  who 
shall  be  all  ''^priests  to  God  and  his  Christ." 

Ver.  14.  "  And  he  brought  the  bullock  for  the  sin-ofFering :  and  Aaron 
and  his  sons  laid  their  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  bullock  for  the 
sin-offering." 

When  Aaron  and  his  sons  had  been  thus  arrayed,  and 
the  attention  of  his  people  more  than  ever  fixed  upon 
them,  Moses  proceeded  to  another  act.  He  brings  for- 
ward the  bullock  for  the  sin-offering.  Immediately,  the 
high  priest  and  the  four  priests  beside  him  come  forward, 
and  together  lay  their  hands  upon  the  bullock's  head, 
confessing  their  sins.  They  transfer  their  guilt  to  this 
victim.  This  was  done  for  themselves  personally,  as 
sinners  bringing  their  individual  sins  to  the  sacrifice, 
teaching  the  people  to  do  the  same  with  their  sins.  Even 
as  ministers  must  themselves  set  an  example  to  their 
people  of  constant  dependence  on  Jesus,  and  unceasing 
application  of  his  death.  In  proportion  as  they  who  lead 
others  do  themselves  make  use  of  that  atonement,  will 
their  people  also  be  convinced  of  their  need  of  it.  And, 
observe,  they  use  the  sin-offerings  for  their  special  per- 
sonal sins,  ere  they  bring  the  "  burnt-offering''''  for  more 
general  and  comprehensive  application  to  the  body  of  sin. 

Vers.  15,  16,  17.  "And  he  slew  it;  and  Moses  took  the  blood,  and  put 
it  upon  the  horns  of  the  altar  round  about  with  his  finger,  and  puri- 
fied the  altar,  and  poured  the  blood  at  the  bottom  of  the  altar,  and 
sanctified  it,  to  make  reconciliation  upon  it.     And  he  took  all  the 


CHAPTER  VIII.  171 

fat  that  was  upon  the  inwards,  and  the  caul  above  the  liver,  and  the 
two  kidneys,  and  their  fat,  and  Moses  burnt  it  upon  the  altar.  But 
the  bullock  and  his  hide,  his  flesh  and  his  dung,  he  burnt  with  fire 
without  the  camp ;  as  the  Lord  commanded  Moses." 

From  the  order  of  the  original,  it  seems  that  Moses 
slew  the  bullock  on  whose  head  Aaron  and  his  sons  had 
laid  their  sins ;  and  then  took  the  blood  in  one  of  the 
bowls.  We  are  told  what  was  done  with  the  bloody  the 
fat,  and  all  that  then  remained.  The  fat,  and  the  re- 
mainder,  are  used  as  in  chap.  iv.  9-11,  where  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  priest,  for  sins  of  ignorance,  is  mentioned. 
But  the  blood  is  used  to  set  apart  the  altar  on  which  that 
high  priest  was  hereafter  to  present  the  daily  offerings. 
He  thoroughly  spread  the  blood  on  it — on  its  horns  and 
whole  framework — and  the  remainder  is  used  to  bathe 
its  base.  Thus  the  whole  altar  is  completely  washed  in 
blood,  and  thereby  is  '•'"purified"'^  and  ^'•sanctified,''''  i.  e., 
set  apart  for  these  ends.  Perhaps  in  this  typical  action 
we  are  to  see  the  shadowing  forth  of  the  truth,  that  the 
person  of  the  Son  of  man  (who  was  the  altar)  was  set 
apart  for  the  purposes  of  the  Lord's  will.  He  was  to  be 
the  Lord's  alone ;  not  appearing  on  earth  for  himself. 
"  I  came,  not  to  do  mine  own  will,  but  the  will  of  him 
that  sent  me."  The  new  and  living  way  was  "  conse- 
crated for  us." 

But  why  ^'•purify'''  the  altar  ?  I  suppose  that  here  we 
are  shown  another  truth.  The  sin  laid  on  the  altar 
would  have  polluted  that  altar  itself,  steeping  it,  in  a 
manner,  in  the  filth  of  these  sins,  had  not  this  blood  been 
previously  laid  on  it  to  preclude  this  danger.  So,  the 
Son  of  man  was  prepared  by  the  depth  and  intensity  of 
his  purity — by  the  abundant  indwelling  of  the  Holy 
G-host — for  bearing  the  sin  laid  upon  him  without  being 


172      THE   PRIESTHOOD  ENTERING  ON  THEIR  OFFICE. 

thereby  polluted  at  all.  He  was  so  set  apart  and  purified 
beforehand,  in  the  body  prepared  for  him,  that  the  sins 
of  a  world  lying  upon  his  person  communicated  no  stain 
whatever  to  him. 

Vers.  18,  19,  20,  21.  "  And  he  brought  the  ram  for  the  burnt-offering: 
and  Aaron  and  his  sons  laid  their  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  ram. 
And  he  killed  it ;  and  Moses  sprinkled  the  blood  upon  the  altar 
round  about.  And  he  cut  the  ram  into  pieces ;  and  Moses  burnt 
the  head,  and  the  pieces,  and  the  fat.  And  he  washed  the  inwards 
and  the  legs  in  v/ater  ;  and  Moses  burnt  the  whole  ram  upon  the 
altar :  it  was  a  burnt-sacrifice  for  a  sweet  savor,  and  an  offering 
made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord ;  as  the  Lord  commanded  Moses." 

The  hurnt-offering  was  the  most  marked  and  fully 
significant  of  all  the  sacrifices,  being  the  basis  of  the  rest. 
But  in  this  case  the  priesVs  sin-offering  precedes  it  on 
the  ground  that  the  priest's  special  personal  sinfulness 
should  first  be  spread  out  and  forgiven ;  and  then  the 
altar,  which  had  received  the  stroke  of  justice,  could  be 
freely  used  for  other  purposes — for  all  the  purposes  that 
the  burnt-offering  might  be  applied  to — by  the  minister- 
ing priest. 

The  rights  observed  are  the  same  as  in  chap.  i.  6-8, 
but  more  briefly  stated.  Christ  offers  himself  as  the 
burnt-offering. 

It  may  be  asked.  In  what  respect  Christ  could  be  said 
to  offer  a  sin-offering ;  for  if  he  is  represented  here  as 
offering  the  hurnt-offering^  did  he  not  also  offer  the  5m- 
offering?  Yes ;  but  it  was  not  for  personal  sin  ;  it  was 
for  what  he  calls  his  "  own  sin,"  viz.,  our  imputed  guilt. 
Thus,  in  Psalm  xl.  12,  ''  Mine  iniquities  have  taken  hold 
upon  me."  Psalm  xxxviii.  4,  "  Mine  iniquities  are  gone 
over  my  head ;  my  wounds  stink,  and  are  corrupt,  be- 
cause of  mij  foolishness:'     Psalm  Ixix.  5,  "  0  Grod,  thou 


CHAPTER  VIII.  -       173 

knowest  my  foolishness  ;  and  my  sms  are  not  hid  from 
thee."  The  sins  of  his  body,  the  Church,  are  the  sins  he 
can  call  his  own. 

Ver.  22.  "  And  he  brought  the  other  ram,  the  ram  of  consecration : 
and  Aaron  and  his  sons  laid  their  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  ram." 

Instead  of  a  special  trespass-offering^  as  we  might  have 
expected  from  the  order  of  chaps,  v.  and  vi.,  there  is,  in 
the  priest's  case,  an  offering  presented  which  includes 
both  what  the  trespass-offering  signified,  and  also  what- 
ever specially  concerned  the  priest's  personal  state.  In- 
deed, we  might  call  ''the  ram  of  consecration'^  by  the 
name  of  "  The  priesfs  trespass-offering.'''' 

It  may  be  asked,  "  Why  does  the  priest  bring  no  peace- 
offering  on  the  day  he  enters  upon  his  office  ?"  Because, 
perhaps,  all  that  was  signified  by  the  peace-offering  was 
taught  by  the  priest's  remaining  in  the  sanctuary  in  the 
Lord's  presence.  He  remained  in  the  Lord's  presence ; 
therefore,  there  is  reconciliation  and  peace  between  G-od 
and  him.  They  who  are  not  at  peace  with  G-od,  quickly 
go  out  from  his  presence,  and  are  found  in  the  world ; 
and  G-od,  also,  on  his  part,  drives  them  out  of  his  gar- 
den :  but  those  that  are  his  reconciled  ones  remain  in 
his  presence,  entranced  and  chained  to  the  spot  by  the 
beauties  of  his  Divine  grace,  and  kept  by  the  mighty 
hand  of  him  who  so  loves  them  that  he  will  not  let  them 
go. 

Yers.  23,  24.  "  And  he  slew  it ;  and  Moses  took  of  the  blood  of  it,  and 
put  it  upon  the  tip  of  Aaron's  right  ear,  and  upon  the  thumb  of  his 
right  hand,  and  upon  the  great  toe  of  his  right  foot.  And  he  brought 
Aaron's  sons,  and  Moses  put  of  the  blood  upon  the  tip  of  their  right 
ear,  and  upon  the  thumbs  of  their  right  hands,  and  upon  the  great 
toes  of  their  right  feet :  and  Moses  sprinkled  the  blood  upon  the 
altar  round  about." 


174      THE  PRIESTHOOD  ENTERING  ON  THEIR  OFFICE. 

By  this  type,  the  whole  person  is  visibly  dedicated  to 
the  Lord.  Every  power  and  faculty  is  consecrated.  The 
Lord  touches  with  blood  his  right  ear,  right  hand,  right 
foot,  as  if  to  say,  '^  I  claim  from  thee  the  exercise  of 
every  faculty  and  property  of  body  and  soul,  to  be  used 
in  my  service."  From  head  to  foot  he  is  marked  by 
blood,  and  set  apart.  He  is  to  hear  for  God ;  and  at  the 
slightest  whisper  of  the  Divine  voice  to  stretch  out  that 
right  hand  for  immediate  activity,  and  move  with  that 
foot  in  the  Lord's  ways.  "  Here  am  I;  send  me  I"  If 
we  are  ''^priests  to  God^'^  such  must  be  our  position  and 
readiness  to  obey.  Our  High  Priest  in  the  heavens  was 
the  full  example  of  this  true  consecration,  set  apart  to  the 
Lord,  wholly  and  forever. 

Perhaps  it  is  to  this  that  Psalm  xl.  6,  refers.  Our 
version  has  rendered  it,  "  Mine  ears  hast  thou  opened." 
The  Hebrew  is,  "^b  n^-is  d'^stx,  "  ears  thou  hast  provided 
for  me  ;"*  and  the  reference  seems  to  be,  to  this  day  of 
the  priest's  consecration.  The  Psalm  speaks  of  Christ's 
coming  forth  as  the  Grreat  Priest  and  Sacrifice,  who  was 
to  supersede  all  other.  In  Hebrews,  chap,  x.,  it  is  quot- 
ed for  that  end.  Now,  in  the  Psalm,  we  see  some  one 
who  says,  "  Lo  !  I  come," — even  Jesus,  who  appears  be- 
fore us,  casting  his  eye  round  about  upon  all  the  scenery 
of  a  priest's  consecration-day.  He  looks  at  the  bullock 
and  rams  (ver.  6,  "  burnt-offering,  and  sin-offering,  and 
sacrifice"),  and  at  the  meat-offering  (f^n5:q,  "offering;") 
at  the  "  great  congregation"  also  (ver.  9) ;  but  above  all, 
at  the  high  priest^  whose  hand^  foot^  and  ear,  are  wet 
with  the  warm  blood  just  sprinkled  on  them.  He  comes 
forward — he  looks  up  to  his  Father,  and  says  (ver.  6), 

*  In  Heb.  x.  5,  n^^s  is  rendered  " /far/ypntrw,"  as  in  the  Septuagint; 
"  KareoKevacas"  is  used  by  Symmachus. 


CHAPTER  VIII.  175 

"  Thou  art  not  pleased  by  the  material  things  presented 
here,  but  only  by  what  they  typify.  '  Sacrifice  and 
meat-offering'  thou  didst  not  desire  further  than  as  a  type 
of  me  ;  and  this  priest,  ivhose  ear  is  sprinkled  with  blood, 
gives  place  to  me,  for  thou  hast  provided  ears  to  me, 
which  I  consecrate  to  thee  ;  and  this  burnt-offering  and 
sin-offering  thou  no  more  requirest.  For,  lo  !  I  come  to 
do  thy  will,  0  God." 

In  this  view  of  the  passage,  we  suppose  Christ  to  say 
of  himself,  that,  having  assumed  human  nature  in  order 
to  be  our  Mediator,  he  was  the  true  Sacrifice  and  the 
true  Priest.  And,  pointing  to  his  own  human  body,  he 
says,  ''  Ears  hast  thou  provided  me,''"' — meaning,  that 
now  he  had  ears,  hands,  feet,  to  be  sprinkled  as  were 
Aaron's.  It  is  thus  that  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  has  been  led  to  say  at  once,  "  A  body  hast  thou 
prepared  me."^     (Heb.  x.  5.) 

Vers.  25,  26,  27.  "  And  he  took  the  fat,  and  the  rump,  and  all  the  fat 
that  was  upon  the  inwards,  and  the  caul  above  the  liver,  and  the 
two  kidneys,  and  their  fat,  and  the  right  shoulder :  And  out  of  the 
basket  of  unleavened  bread,  that  was  before  the  Lord,  he  took  one 
unleavened  cake,  and  a  cake  of  oiled  bread,  and  one  wafer,  and  put 
them  on  the  fat,  and  upon  the  right  shoulder  :  And  he  put  all  upon 
Aaron's  hands,  and  upon  his  sons'  hands,  and  waved  them  for  a 
wave-offering  before  the  Lord." 

In  ver.  25,  we  have  a  summary  of  the  parts  of  the  dif- 
ferent offerings  presented.  Some  pieces  of  them  all  are 
taken — pieces  that  represented  the  inward  and  most  deep- 
seated  feelings  (viz.,  fat  on  the  inwards  and  kidneys), 

*  The  Septuagint  version  also  has  "  trwua ;"  but  I  suspect  this  reading 
has  been  inserted  by  later  writers  who  were  familiar  with  the  New  Tes- 
tament. Just  as,  in  some  other  cases.  Pro  v.  xi,  31,  compared  with  1  Peter 
iv.  8,  and  Psalm  iv.  4,  compared  with  Eph.  iv.  26.  If  it  is  genuine,  they 
may  have  given  the  sense,  understanding  it  somewhat  as  we  have  done. 


176      THE   PEIESTHOOD   ENTERING   ON   THEIR   OFFICE. 

pieces  that  represented  richness  and  fulness  of  feeling 
(viz.,  fat  in  general,  and  the  marrow  of  the  rump),  and 
that  piece  which  represented  the  devotion  of  the  person's 
whole  strength  (viz.,  the  right  shoulder).  Then  there  is 
in  ver.  26,  a  summary  of  the  different  kinds  of  meat- 
ofFerino-.  The  ''  oiled  bread'^  belonged  to  the  third  sort, 
and  the  "  cakes  and  ivafers'^  to  the  second ;  thus  select- 
ino-  neither  the  highest  nor  the  lowest,  but  the  medium, 
as  a  proper  specimen  of  all. 

All  these  cakes  were  put  on  "  the  fat  pieces''''^  just 
mentioned,  and  the  right  shoulder  ;  and  thus  a  type  was 
exhibited  of  soul  and  body  together  offered  to  the  Lord. 
Moses,  therefore,  put  these  into  each  individual  priest's 
hand  in  succession ;  and  as  each  priest  stood  with  them 
in  his  full  hands,  Moses  stood  by  and  waved  his  hands 
over  them  as  a  symbol  and  token  of  their  being  wholly 
the  Lord's.  As  Moses  spread  his  hands  over  them,  and 
next  waved  them  from  north  to  south,  east  to  west,  he 
signified  their  acknowledgment  that  they  were  the 
Lord's  in  every  feeling  of  their  souls,  and  every  faculty 
of  their  minds,  and  every  power  of  their  bodies. 

Thus  each  man  presented  the  fatness  of  his  soul,  the 
strength  of  his  body,  and  the  riches  of  his  substance  to 
God.  That  was  the  gift  which  filled  the  hands  of  a 
consecrated  priest.  What  manner  of  persons,  then,  ought 
we  to  be,  if  we  are  "priests  to  G-od?"  Each  of  these 
priests  was  a  type  of  him  who  came  forward  to  the 
Father  saying,  "  Lo  .'  /  come."  Each  of  these,  with  his 
full  hands,  represents  Christ  in  that  position.  And  such 
ought  each  believing  man  to  be  "a  holy  priesthood."  (1 
Pet.  ii.  5.) 

'2'^?'5t)  is  the  expression. 


CHAPTER  VIII.  177 

Vera  28,  29.  "  And  Moses  took  them  from  off  their  bands,  and  burnt 
them  on  the  altar  upon  the  burnt-offering ;  they  were  consecratiohs 
for  a  sweet  savor :  it  is  an  offering  made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord. 
And  Moses  took  the  breast,  and  waved  it  for  a  wave-offering  before 
the  Lord  :  for  of  the  ram  of  consecration  it  was  Moses'  part ;  as  the 
Lord  commanded  Moses." 

Moses  put  them  all  ''^  on  the  burnt'Sacrifice,^^  which. 
lay  on  the  altar.  The  whole  burnt-offering-  was,  in  a 
manner,  the  primary  sacrifice ;  it  expressed  atonement, 
full  atonement.  Therefore,  the  putting  on  it  of  those 
pieces  which  represented  the  giving  up  of  feelings  and 
desires,  and  the  meat-offering,  which  represented  the  per- 
son's whole  substance,  was  a  declaration  that  all  we  offer 
to  Grod  must  be  on  the  foundation  of  atonement.  "  By 
him,  therefore,  let  us  offer  the  sacrifice  of  praise  to  Grod 
continually."     (Heb.  xiii.  15.) 

*'  They^^ — these  pieces — "  were  consecrations ^  They 
were  parts  of  the  consecrating  offering,  each  part  a  sweet 
savor ;  and  the  whole  sacrifice  together  formed  an  offer- 
ing made  by  fire  to  the  Lord.  It  was  a  transaction 
which  the  Lord  approved  and  accepted. 

There  still  remained  one  ;  the  breast  of  the  ram.  This 
had  been  mentioned  so  far  back  as  Exod.  xxix.  26,  when 
first  the  order  of  consecration  was  appointed.  This  breast 
is  waved  before  the  Lord,  over  all  the  pieces  on  the  altar, 
and  over  Aaron  and  his  sons.  The  waving  of  it  is  the 
last  sacrificial  act.  It  seems  to  declare  the  heartfelt  con- 
currence of  the  parties  in  all  that  had  been  done, — by 
one  concluding  act  they  gave  up  their  heart  to  the  Lord. 

But  why  was  this  breast  to  be  Moses'  part  ?  Perhaps 
for  the  following  reason  : — The  dedication  was  that  of 
Aaron  and  his  sons  ;  and  Moses  kept  this  last  part  of  the 
offering  as  a  pledge,  or  token,  that  they  had  really  given 
up  themselves  to  God.     The  pledge,  of  course,  must  be 

8* 


178      THE  PRIESTHOOD  ENTERING  ON  THEIR  OFFICE. 

deposited  in  other  hands  than  their  own  ;  and,  therefore, 
it  is  not  given  to  the  priests,  but  to  Moses.  The  type 
may  represent  Jesus  as  depositing  in  the  Father's  hands 
the  pledge  of  his  complete  consecration,  when  he  said, 
*'  Lo,  I  come!" 

Ver.  30.  "  And  Moses  took  of  the  anointing  oil,  and  of  the  blood  which 
was  upon  the  altar,  and  sprinkled  it  upon  Aaron,  and  upon  his  gar- 
ments, and  upon  his  sons,  and  upon  his  sons'  garments  with  him  ; 
and  sanctified  Aaron,  and  his  garments,  and  his  sons,  and  his  sons' 
garments  with  him," 

Moses  takes  the  prepared  oil  and  mixes  it  with  the 
blood  of  the  ram  of  consecration  (Exod.  xxix.  21),  blood 
already  accepted.  At  first  sight,  this  seems  to  be  no 
more  than  a  repetition  of  what  was  already  done  (ver.  12). 
But  there  the  act  was  meant  to  set  apart  the  man  ;  here 
it  is  meant  to  set  apart  the  'priest.  In  the  former  case, 
the  oil  was  first  poured  on  them  and  then  blood  sprinkled 
(ver.  24)  on  their  persons,  as  if  to  say.  Thus  does  the 
Holy  Spirit  point  out  these  persons  to  be  set  apart,  and 
thus  are  those  who  are  set  apart  cleansed  with  blood. 
When  this  was  done,  they  were  constituted  priests ;  and, 
now  that  they  are  actually  invested  with  office,  oil  and 
blood  are  sprinkled  on  them  and  their  garments  again, 
intimating  that  they  need  as  priests  a  double  portion  of 
the  Spirit  and  a  doubly  complete  cleansing.  Such  was 
Jesus  I  "  Without  spot  or  blemish,"  and  endowed  with 
the  Spirit  "without  measure." 

Their  very  garments  are  thus  set  apart  and  cleansed. 
To  this  Jude  23  may  allude,  "  Hating  even  the  garment 
spotted  by  the  flesh."  Believers  are  priests  to  Grod ; 
therefore,  not  their  persons  only  (as  verse  24  in  this 
chapter  shows),  but  their  garments  also, — not  their  per- 
sonal character  alone,  but  every  act  and  outward  mani- 


CHAPTER  VIII.  179 

festation,  must  be  unspotted  by  the  world.  Perhaps  Rev. 
iii.  4,  ''A  few  names — who  have  not  defiled  their  gar- 
ments" may  refer  to  this  also  ;  and  xvi.  15,  "  He  that 
watcheth  and  keepeth  his  garments." 

Ver.  31.  "And  Moses  said  unto  Aaron,  and  to  his  sons,  Boil  the  flesh 
at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation :  and  there  eat  it 
with  the  bread  that  is  in  the  basket  of  consecration,  as  I  commanded, 
saying,  Aaron  and  his  sons  shall  eat  it." 

The  priests  must  eat  of  the  sacrifices  in  order  to  show 
that  these  sacrifices  have  brought  peace  and  reconcili- 
ation. But  first  they  "  boil  the  flesh  at  the  door  of  the 
tabernacle;''''  in  the  immediate  sight  of  G-od  they  do 
this.  The  type  represents  Christ's  sufferings — every 
joint  relaxed,  "  I  am  poured  out  like  water."  (Ps.  xxii. 
14.)  The  fire  was,  of  course,  taken  from  the  altar,  fire 
from  heaven — to  intimate  that  Christ's  agony  proceeded 
directly  from  the  Father.  But  in  the  very  place  where 
this  wrath  fell  on  him,  there  is  peace  found  for  sinners, — 
the  offerers  feast  upon  the  boiled  flesh.  And  then  they 
rise  and  take  the  '•'•  meat-offering ^^^  or  bread,  also;  for 
now  they  can  freely  dedicate  themselves  to  the  Lord. 

Ver.  32.  "  And  that  which  remaineth  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  bread 
shall  ye  burn  with  fire." 

There  must  be  nothing  left  to  corrupt,  and  nothing 
left  neglected.  Either  it  must  be  wholly  consumed,  or 
wholly  eaten, — a  type  of  the  fact,  that  all  things  must 
be  either  wholly  visited  with  Divine  wrath,  or  wholly 
enjoy  Divine  favor. 

Vers.  33,  34.  "  And  ye  shall  not  go  out  of  the  door  of  the  tabernacle 
of  the  congregation  in  seven  days,  until  the  days  of  your  consecra- 
tion be  at  an  end  :  for  seven  days  shall  he  consecrate  you.  As  he 
hath  done  this  day,  so  the  Lord  hath  commanded  to  do,  to  make  an 
atonement  for  you." 


180      THE  PRIESTHOOD  ENTERING  ON  THEIR  OFFICE. 

During  some  days  the  truths  represented  and  expressed 
in  the  preceding  types  were  to  be  kept  before  the  minds 
of  the  priests  themselves,  that  they  might  meditate  on 
them  and  be  imbued  with  them.  So  continually  was 
this  to  be  done,  that  for  seven  days  they  were  not  to  leave 
the  precincts  of  the  tabernacle,  "  the  door  of  it"  (ver.  35), 
day  nor  night.  Thus  they  were  taught  their  office  ;  and 
thus  Christ  was  set  forth  as  a  priest  who  should  ever, 
day  and  night,  be  found  at  his  work  of  satisfaction  and 
mediation. 

Ver.  35.  "  Therefore  shall  ye  abide  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of 
the  congregation  day  and  night  seven  days,  and  keep  the  charge  of 
the  Lord,  that  ye  die  not :  for  so  I  am  commanded." 

The  last  clause  is  added  lest  the  strict  injunction 
should  seem  too  severe.  ''  So  I  am  commanded."  It  is 
the  Lord's  will ;  therefore  it  will  be  pleasant. 

Such  passages  as,  "  Blessed  is  the  man  that  heareth 
me,  watching  daily  at  my  gates,  waiting  at  the  posts  of 
my  door"  (Prov.  viii.  34),  seem  to  refer  to  this  case. 
Blessed  are  they,  who,  like  these  priests,  are  wholly  the 
Lord's  night  and  day, — unwearied  and  unexhausted  they 
serve  him  and  rejoice  in  him.  Thus,  too,  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  4, 
"Blessed  are  they  that  dwell  in  thy  house,  they  shall  be 
still  praising  thee  !"  Many  a  song  was  heard  ascending 
from  the  lips  of  these  sons  of  Aaron  during  these  seven 
days.  And  in  these  priests,  during  these  seven  days,  we 
see  a  type  of  real  believers.  The  seven  days  is  the  ex- 
pression for  fulness,  q,  d.,  the  whole  space  filled,  from 
beginning  of  life  to  the  end.  Then,  there  is  not  the  alter- 
nate approach  to  the  altar  and  withdrawal  from  it  to  go 
back  to  other  duties  ;  there  is  continual,  uninterrupted 
service.     This  ought  to  be  the  characteristic  of  believers 


CHAPTER  VIII.  181 

as  "  priests  to  Grod."  Not  a  few  minutes'  service  at 
morning  and  evening,  but  the  whole  day  filled  up  by- 
successive  acts  of  service. 

It  shall  specially  be  so  in  glory.  It  is  thus  with  our 
High  Priest,  who  ''  appears  in  the  presence  of  God /or 
us.''''  He  never  retires  from  his  blessed  position ;  he 
always  beholds  the  face  of  his  Father.  The  nearer  we 
come  to  this,  the  nearer  we  resemble  him.  "  Pray  with- 
out ceasing,"  ''  Rejoice  evermore,"  indicate  what  ought 
to  be  our  state,  even  now  on  earth.  The  calm,  blessed, 
glorious  rest  of  our  High  Priest  within  the  Tabernacle, 
with  the  Father's  love  upon  him  every  hour,  and  his  soul 
reposing  on  the  Father  every  hour,  represents  to  us  what 
we  should  be.  Oh,  how  sad  the  long  intervals  in  our 
adoration,  and  in  our  seasons  of  communion  !  Oh,  how 
sad,  how  unlike  priests,  our  intermittent  flow  of  love  and 
joy  !  When  shall  we  be  forever  the  same  as  to  the  kind 
of  feeling,  and  ever  rising  higher  as  to  the  degree  ? 

Ver.  36.    "  So  Aaron  and  his  sons  did  all  things  which  the  Lord  com- 
manded by  the  hand  of  Moses." 

The  Lord  ceased  to  speak ;  and  now,  therefore,  they 
began  to  act.  We  see  them  solemnly  engaged,  seven 
days  in  these  appointed  rites. 


Looking  back  on  this  chapter,  the  subject  of  the  con- 
secration of  the  priests  leads  us  to  an  interesting  inves- 
tigation. The  consecration  was  the  time  when  a  priest 
was  fully  brought  into  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  all  the 
privileges  of  his  office.  Though  of  Aaron's  line,  still  he 
was  not  fully  a  priest  till  he  was  consecrated.  This  is 
to  be  kept  in  mind ;  for  with  a  reference  partly  to  this 


182      THE  PRIESTHOOD  ENTERING  ON  THEIR  OFFICE. 

idea,  and  partly  to  the  Hebrew  term  for  it  (^^  k^72),  ''  fill- 
ing the  hand,"  the  Septuagint  were  led  to  adopt  the 
Greek  "  ts^etooj^^^  to  express  consecration.    Hence,  ver.  22, 

''  aqiov  76Xsiojaeb)g  5"  ver.  28,  "  to  dloxavjMfia  rrjg  TsXeuoaecog  ;" 
ver.  33,  "  ri.uega  TsUioiOswg  ;"  chap.xxi.  10,  '^OTSTsXsKOfievog^^^ 

is  the  consecrated  priest ;  and  Exod.  xxix.  9,  "  re^etwu-et? 
'Aaqoiv  rug  xsigag  avwv,^^^     Theso  are  Specimens. 

If  we  keep  this  in  remembrance,  we  are  prepared  to 
understand  several  passages  of  the  New  Testament,  that 
otherwise  are  difficult  and  obscure.  In  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  Christ  is  spoken  of,  chap.  ii.  10,  as  '^  made  per- 
fect by  sufferings  ;^^  and  more  specially,  chap.  v.  9, 
"  Beifig-  made  perfecV  is  connected  with  his  priesthood  ; 
and  in  chap.  vii.  28,  this  is  the  term  used  to  describe  his 
consecration,  "  ^k  tov  ai^pa  TsxelBicofxsvov,^^  There  is  no 
difficulty  left,  when  we  see  it  is  officCj  not  character,  that 
is  spoken  of.  Now,  in  a  figurative  way,  but  with  a  ref- 
erence to  this  idea,  Heb.  x.  14  represents  Jesus  as  '^ per- 
fecting-^^ (TfiTe^efojxe)  those  that  are  set  apart  by  his  blood ; 
i.  e.,  he  puts  them,  by  his  one  offering,  into  the  possession 
of  all  the  privileges  of  fully-pardoned  and  justified  ones. 
The  ^^  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfecV  (Heb.  xii.  23), 
bears  the  same  reference ;  they  are  entered  into  posses- 
sion of  what  was  intended  for  them.  Like  Aaron's  sons, 
looking  forward  to  privileges  in  as  much  as  they  were 
priests'  sons,  but  not  entered  on  possession  till  the  day 
of  "T£^£twa<g  5"  so  these  just  men.  James  (ii.  22)  says, 
'*  By  his  works  was  faith  made  perfecf^  ("eTeAe/w^j^"). 
Faith  was  carried  out  to  its  proper  purpose  ;  it  entered  on 
its  proper  work  ;  it  was  inaugurated  visibly  by  his  works. 

*  Perhaps  it  is  in  this  sense  that  our  Lord  uses  "  Tt\nov^air     (Luke  xiii. 
32.)    "  On  the  third  day,  lo  !  I  am  fully  consecrated !" 


CHAPTER  VIII.  '  183 

It  is  thus,  too,  in  1  John  ii.  5,  ''  Whoso  keepeth  his  word, 
in  him  verily  is  the  love  of  God  perfected^  The  love  of 
God,  which  he  feels,  is  carried  out  to  its  proper  extent, 
or  is  made  use  of  for  the  purpose  intended,  when  it  leads  a 
man  to  walk  holily.  It  has  got  its  consecration-day — 
it  has  fully  entered  on  its  office. 

This  is  still  better  seen  in  1  John  iv.  17,  "  Herein  is 
our  love  made  perfect,"  &c.     The  Grreek  words  are  ''  ^^ 

rovm  TSTslsiMTtti  -q  dyaTTj]  fisd'  ri^ibvP      It  is  God''s  love  to  US 

that  is  the  theme,  "  the  love  that  is  with  us.''''  He  calls 
it  (as  if  the  name,  Immanuel,  were  running  in  his  mind) 
^'•the  love  ivith  us;''''  i.  e.,  Grod's  display  of  love  to  us 
(ver.  16)  in  his  Son ;  which  is  now  our  property.  Now, 
he  says,  this  love  of  Grod  to  us  "  is  made  perfect,'''' 
<<  TsreXsKaTai  j"  has  got  its  consecration-day — has  fully 
entered  on  its  office.  ''  Herein  (viz.,  as  ver.  10,  in  the 
sending  of  his  Son)  has  God^s  love  to  us  reached  its  per- 
fection.'''' The  ocean  has  been  filled  with  love  :  it  is  an 
ocean  which  we  may  call  "oz^rs;"*  angels  cannot  call 
it  "  theirs.''''  And  so  complete  is  this  display  of  Grod's 
love  to  us,  that  at  the  Day  of  Judgment  we  shall  have 
no  fear  ;  and  even  at  present,  in  spite  of  indwelling  sin, 
we  are  as  really  righteous  as  our  Surety .  "  As  He  is,  so 
are  we!^''  Hence  it  is  that  they  altogether  mistake  the 
Gospel  who  cherish  fears  and  doubts,  as  if  they  were 
part  of  its  results.  This  love  has  no  element  of  fear  in 
it ;  nay,  "  He  that  feareth  is  not  made  perfect  in  love  ;" 

*  "  Oiirs^'  because  bestowed  on  us ;  just  as,  in  Milton's  Comus,  "  She 
has  a  hidden  strength,"  says  the  elder  brother.  The  other  asks,  "  What 
hidden  strength,  unless  the  strength  of  heaven,  if  you  mean  that  ?"  The 
other,  in  reply,  says — 

"  A  hidden  strength, 
Which,  if  heaven  gave  it,  may  be  termed  her  own !" 


184     THE  PRIESTHOOD  ENTERING  ON  THEIR  OFFICE. 

"o{>  TeisXeicoTat  h  r^  ^ydnnj^  (Yer.  18.)  He  who  still  fears, 
and  has  suspicious  doubts  remaining,  has  not  entered 
upon  his  consecration-day — has  not  fully  entered  upon 
the  enjoyment  of  the  privileges  to  which  this  love  en- 
titles him  :  for  this  perfect  love  casts  out  all  fear.* 

*  In  "  Jehovah  Zidkenu"  a  small  work  by  F.  Sanders,  Pastor  in  Bar- 
men, this  passage  is  explained  in  a  similar  way.  "He  by  whom  the 
love  of  God  is  so  perfectly  believed,  known,  experienced,  and  enjoyed,  that 
he  can  comfort  himself  with  it  against  all  the  condemnations  of  the  law, 
against  all  the  accusations  of  conscience,  and  against  all  the  assaults  of 
Satan,  such  a  one  is  said  in  this  respect  to  '  have  boldness  for  the  Day  of 
Judgment!    This  'perfect  love^  casteth  out  all  'fear.'  "     (P.  51.) 


larnn's  €nitmu  m  (110  (Dffire. 


"  BEING  MADE  PERFECT,  HE  BECAME  THE  AUTHOR  OF  ETERNAL  SALVATION  UNTO 
ALL  THEM  THAT  OBEY  HIM." Heb.  V.  9. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 


Ver.  1.     "  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  eighth  day,  that  Moses  called 
Aaron  and  his  sons,  and  the  elders  of  Israel," 

The  priests  were  now  "  made  perfect^''''  that  is,  con- 
secrated to  their  office.  There  is  to  be  a  specimen  given 
here  of  the  high  priest  actually  engaged  in  his  office. 
The  elders  of  Israel  are  special  witnesses,  that  they  may 
tell  the  people  with  what  confidence  they  may  now 
approach  the  altar  ;  for  Aaron  is  fully  consecrated — 
"  made  perfects  And  his  four  sons,  also,  stand  by  as 
witnesses. 

Thus  witnesses  of  Christ's  completeness  have  assured 
us  of  his  being  a  true  and  every  way  complete  priest. 
They  proclaim,  "  Being  made  perfect,  he  has  become  the 
author  of  eternal  salvation  unto  all  men  that  obey  him." 
(Heb.  V.  9.)  The  Father  bears  witness  that  he  did  con- 
secrate him  completely  ;  and,  on  earth,  saved  souls  bear 
witness  that  they  have  seen  and  felt  the  power  of  his 
priesthood,  for  they  took  their  sins  to  him,  and  received 
atonement  from  him. 


186  AARON'S  ENTRANCE  ON  HIS  OFFICE. 

Ver.  2.  "  And  he  said  unto  Aaron,  take  thee  a  young  calf  for  a  sin- 
offering,  and  a  ram  for  a  burnt-offering,  without  blemish,  and  offer 
them  before  the  Lord." 

Aaron,  now  actually  in  office,  is  to  begin  his  official 
acts  before  all  the  people,  by  again  offering,  as  in  chap, 
viii.  14, 18,  a  sacrifice  of  sin-offering  and  burnt-offering.  * 
He  is  ever  to  keep  the  people  in  mind  that  there  must 
another  priest  arise,  greater  far  than  Aaron ;  for  Aaron 
needs  atonement  himself.  On  all  great  public  occasions, 
the  high  priest  began  by  presenting  these  two  offerings 
for  himself.  The  consecration-offerings  of  chap.  viii.  22, 
26,  he  had,  of  course,  no  more  to  do  with.  Now,  in  so 
doing,  he  was  "■  the  voice  of  one  crying"  at  the  altar, 
Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord  !  I  am  not  the  Christ. 
There  cometh  one  after  me,  mightier  than  I,  the  latchet 
of  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  stoop  down  and  un- 
loose !  One  who  shall  not  need  daily,  as  I  need,  "  to  offer 
up  sacrifice,  first  for  his  own  sins,  and  then  for  the 
people's."     (Heb.  vii.  27.) 

Vers.  8,  4.  "  And  unto  the  children  of  Israel  thou  shalt  speak,  saying. 
Take  ye  a  kid  of  the  goats  for  a  sin-offering ;  and  a  calf  and  a  lamb, 
both  of  the  fkst  year,  without  blemish,  for  a  burnt-offering ;  also  a 
bullock  and  a  ram  for  peace-offerings,  to  sacrifice  before  the  Lord  ; 
and  a  meat-offering  mingled  with  oil :  for  to-day  the  Lord  wiU 
appear  unto  you." 

The  people  bring  all  kind  of  offerings,  except  the 
trespass-offerings  which,  at  the  entrance  of  the  priest  on 
his  duties,  and  while  the  congregation,  therefore,  were 
only  beginning  to  be  shown  their  duty  in  holy  things, 

*  The  young  calf  here,  and  the  "young  bullock"  of  Exod.  xxix.  1,  seems 
the  same.  The  Hebrew  in  tliis  chapter  is  *ipi  '•.'2.  ^,^3^,  and  in  Exodus, 
■•(^^  19  "'?•  The  Jews  say  it  put  Aaron  in  mind  of  the  matter  of  the 
golden  calf. 


CHAPTER  IX.  187 

might  not  be  needed.  A  trespass  in  holy  things  (see 
chap.  V.  15)  could  scarcely  have  yet  occurred.  But  all 
other  kinds  are  brought.  Foremost  is  the  sin-offering, 
whereon  they  lay  their  individual  special  guilt.  Then,  a 
twofold  burnt-offering- J — a  calf  and  a  lamb, — to  show 
their  trust  in  the  grand  primary  sacrifice.  Next,  the 
peace-offering-,  in  its  fullest  form — a  ram  and  a  bullock 
(nitij,  ox) — to  show  the  complete  peace  bestowed  and  rec- 
onciliation to  Grod.  Lastly,  the  meat-offering;  mingled 
with  oil — their  own  persons  consecrated  to  God  and  his 
service. 

The  people  were  called  to  do  this,  on  the  ground  that 
"  the  Lord  would  appear  to  them  that  day^  As  if  Moses 
had  said,  "  Thus  shall  yon  meet  the  Lord :  His  way  to 
the  sinner  is  through  the  shedding  of  blood ;  and  the 
sinner's  way  to  him  is  through  the  same."  A  glorious 
truth  for  the  chief  of  sinners !  "He  has  been  to  you  a 
G-od  that  hideth  himself;  but  approach  with  the  blood 
that  has  been  shed  for  you  ;  this  day  approach  ;  and  this 
day  shall  the  Lord  appear  unto  you  I" 

Vers.  6,  6,  "  And  they  brought  that  which  Moses  commanded  before 
the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation  :  and  all  the  congregation  drew 
near,  and  stood  before  the  Lord.  And  Moses  said,  This  is  the  thing 
which  the  Lord  commanded  that  ye  should  do :  and  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  shall  appear  unto  you." 

The  congregation  gathered  themselves  together  in 
front  of  the  tabernacle,  with  the  offerings.  Moses  then 
said  to  them,  "  This,  which  the  Lord  commanded,  do" 
(see  the  original),  and  in  so  doing,  expect  that  he  will 
appear.  As  at  ver.  4,  we  are  taught  that  the  Lord  ap- 
pears as  our  G-od,  reconciled  and  gracious,  when  we  are 
approaching  him  through  the  work  of  his  Son. 


188         Aaron's  entrance  on  his  office. 

Ver.  1.  "  And  Moses  said  unto  Aaron,  Go  unto  the  altar,  and  offer  thy 
sin-offering,  and  thy  burnt-offering,  and  make  an  atonement  for  thy- 
self, and  for  the  people :  and  offer  the  offering  of  the  people,  and 
make  an  atonement  for  them ;  as  the  Lord  commanded." 

The  people  being  ready,  Aaron  is  now  to  offer  for  them. 
But,  that  they  might  know  him  to  be  only  a  type  and 
shadow,  and  not  "  the  Christ,"  the  true  anointed  Priest, 
he  first  of  all  presents  a  sacrifice  for  himself  It  being 
thus  understood  by  all  that  he  acts  in  the  name  of  an- 
other yet  to  come,  he  goes  forward  to  the  work. 

Vers.  8,  9,  10,  11.  "  Aaron  therefore  went  unto  the  altar,  apd  slew  the 
calf  of  the  sin-offering,  which  was  for  himself.  And  the  sons  of 
Aaron  brought  the  blood  unto  him ;  and  he  dipped  his  finger  in  the 
blood,  and  put  it  upon  the  horns  of  the  altar,  and  poured  out  the 
blood  at  the  bottom  of  the  altar.  But  the  fat,  and  the  kidneys,  and 
the  caul  above  the  liver  of  the  sin-offering,  he  burnt  upon  the  altar; 
as  the  Lord  commanded  Moses.  And  tlie  flesh  and  the  hide  he 
burnt  with  fire  without  the  camp." 

As  soon  as  Aaron  had  slain  his  sin-offering,  his  sons 
caught  its  blood  in  the  bowls  of  the  altar ;  and  as  each 
of  the  four  stood — perhaps  one  at  each  corner  of  the  altar 
— Aaron  bent  down  and  dipt  his  finger  in  their  bowl  of 
blood,  and  sprinkled  the  horns  of  the  altar.  Thus,  the 
four  horns  were  seen  by  the  people  wet  with  blood,  a 
loud  voice  of  atonement  thereby  ascending  to  heaven, 
crying,  "  Pardon  to  the  guilty !  for  this  is  his  penalty." 
Then  Aaron  emptied  out  of  the  bowls,  and  out  of  the 
body  of  the  animal,  the  blood  that  remained,  till  a  torrent 
of  red  crimson  blood  flowed  round  the  altar's  base.  In 
vers.  10,  11,  the  view  is  the  same  as  chap.  viii.  16.^ 

*  The  Hebrew  in  this  place  is  different  in  the  form  of  expression.  The 
caul  is  said  to  be  nssn  ',"0,  "from  the  liver;"  and  P5<i3nn  1?3,  "from 
the  sin-offering."  This  may  be,  q.  d.,  the  caul  which  he  takes  from  the  liver, 
from  out  of  the  sin-offering.     So  ver.  19. 


CHAPTER  IX.  189 

Vers.  12,  13,  14.  "And  he  slew  the  burnt-offering;  and  Aaron's  sons 
presented  unto  him  the  blood,  which  he  sprinkled  round  about  upon 
the  altar.  And  they  presented  the  burnt-offering  unto  him,  with 
the  pieces  thereof,  and  the  head :  and  he  burnt  them  upon  the  altar. 
And  he  did  wash  the  inwards  and  the  legs,  and  burnt  them  upon 
the  burnt-offering  on  the  altar." 

This  is  the  other  part  of  Aaron's  offering  for  himself, 
ere  he  presented  the  people's.  His  own  peculiar  sins 
being  washed  away  by  the  sin-offering,  and  its  blood 
being  put  on  the  altar's  horns  to  cry  in  his  behalf,  and 
bring  down  better  things  than  the  blood  of  Abel,  he  pre- 
sents this  burnt-offering'  to  show  that  he  had  equal  in- 
terest in  all  that  signified  atonement,  this  being  the  grand 
primary  type  of  redemption. 

The  expression  in  vers.  12  and  13,  for  '•^ presented,^^ 
suggests  to  us  the  reason  why  Aaron's  sons  were  there  to 
do  this.  The  word  (^x^^^,  hiphil)  is  one  which  is  gen- 
erally used  when  a  person  has  a  thing  in  his  own  posses- 
sion, and  then  offers  it  to  another  for  his.  It  is  used  of 
one  who  gives  up  another  into  an  enemy's  hand.  Hence 
on  this  occasion  we  are  led  to  consider  Aaron's  sons  as 
stationed  there  by  God  to  exhibit  to  their  father  the  blood 
and  the  other  parts  of  the  sacrifice.  They  are  his  instru- 
ments for  holding  out  to  Aaron  the  offer  of  an  atone- 
ment ;  and  thus  more  fully  than  before  is  the  high  priest 
exhibited  to  all  the  people  as  one  who  himself  needs 
atonement.  Their  eyes  are  thereby  fixed  on  him  only 
as  the  shadow  of  One  greater  far,  who  is  yet  to  come ; 
and  he  himself  is  kept  from  being  at  all  lifted  up  by  the 
honor  done  to  him.  This  same  act  was  repeated  (ver.  18) 
in  the  midst  of  the  people's  offering ;  no  doubt  for  the 
very  end  just  noticed. 

Vers.  15,  16,  17.    "  And  he  brought  the  people's  offering,  and  took  the 


190  AARON'S  ENTRANCE   ON  HIS  OFFICE. 

goat,  which  was  the  sin-offering  for  the  people,  and  slew  it,  and 
offered  it  for  sin,  as  the  first.  And  he  brought  the  burnt-offering, 
and  offered  it  according  to  the  naanner.  And  he  brought  the  meat- 
offering, and  took  an  handful  thereof,  and  burnt  it  upon  the  altar, 
beside  the  burnt-sacrifice  of  the  morning." 

Aaron  now  took  up  the  people's  offering.  Here  the 
most  striking  expression  occurs  of  any  that  we  have  yet 
met  with  in  regard  to  atonement.  "  He  offered  it  for 
sin''''  might  be  rendered,  "  He  sinned  it^^''  or  "  He  made  it 
sin^^  (iinxan).  So,  in  chap.  vi.  26.  The  sense  of  "  offer- 
ing  for  sin^^  is  evidently  taken  from  the  fact,  that  every 
such  sacrifice  had  the  sin  laid  on  it,  or  imputed  to  it. 
This  may  have  suggested  the  expression  used  in  2  Cor. 
V.  21,  "  He  made  him  sin  for  us^^  (aixxQTtav  moiriaevY  It 
is  not  "  made  Mm  to  be  a  sin-offering^''''  but  much  more  ]'^ 
the  sin-offering  itself  \Yas  ^^  made  sin  ;''''  and  not  on  this 
occasion  only,  but  on  all  occasions,  as  we  may  infer  from 
the  clause  "  as  at  the  firsf  (ver.  8).  The  true  idea  ap- 
pears in  Gen.  xxxi.  39,  ^^^tMr!^^ :  "  I  bare  the  loss  of  it," 
— I  was  made  sin  for  it.  The  idea  seems  to  be,  "  he  put 
the  sin  of  the  people  on  this  victim  till  it  became  one 
mass  of  sin."  The  priest's  using  it  as  the  atonement  for 
those  who  presented  it,  made  the  victim  become,  in  a 
manner,  the  receiver  of  their  sin,  and  of  the  penalty  it 
deserved.     And  so  our  Great  Sin-offering,  Jesus,  when 

*  Chrysostom  gives  one  of  his  best  criticisms  here,  when  he  says,  that  it 
means  more  even  than  that  he  made  the  Righteous  One  a  sinner  in  order 

to  make  sinners  righteous.  "  ov  yap  t^iv  eOmsv,  'aXX'  avrriv  tijv  Troiorrjra.  ov 
yap  eiTTEi/,  '  CTToitjcrEv  niiaproiXov,'  aXA'  ^  hjxapriav.^  0^%'  '  rov  [ir]  ajxaprovTa  jxovov, 
dWa  '  Toy  jiriis  yvovra  af^apriav.^  [va  KOi  vficis  ytvoijitda  ovk  sIttev  *  Si'Kaioi,'  aWa 
* diKatoavvTi'  Kai  '  QcSv  SiKaioirvur]' "  (Comment,  on  2  Cor.  v.)  He  does  not 
say,  "  He  made  him  a  sinjier"  but  '•'  he  made  him  sin" — not,  "  Him  who 
did  not  sin"  but  "  him  that  did  not  knoio  sin."  All  this  in  order  that  we 
might  become,  not  "  righteous"  but  "  righteousness"  and  "  the  righteousness 
of  Oodr 


CHAPTER  IX.  191 

slain  for  us,  was  treated  as  if  he  were  the  reservoir  of  the 
sin  and  curse  that  flowed,  in  so  many  streams,  over 
man.  In  this  sense,  "  The  Father  made  him  to  be  sin 
for  us !" 

The  burnt-offering  was  presented  in  the  usual  way, 
''  according  to  the  manner."  The  meat-offering  also. 
And  these  two,  offered  on  that  occasion,  were  in  addition 
to  the  morning  sacrifice  and  meat-offering.  For  we  are 
not  required  to  set  aside  regularly  appointed  duty,  when 
engaged  in  more  extraordinary  and  solemn  exercises. 

Vers.  18,  19.  "  He  slew  also  the  bullock  and  the  ram,  for  a  sacrifice  of 
peace-offerings,  which  was  for  the  people:  and  Aaron's  sons  pre- 
sented unto  him  the  blood,  which  he  sprinkled  upon  the  altar  round 
about,  and  the  fat  of  the  bullock  and  of  the  ram,  the  rump,  and  that 
which  covereth  the  inwards,  and  the  kidneys,  and  the  caul  above 
the  liver." 

As  before.  In  ver.  19,  it  is  literally,  "  the  fat  pieces 
from  the  bullock  and  from  the  ram."  "  That  ivhich 
covereth ^^  is  filled  up  by  a  reference  to  chap.  iii.  9.* 

Vers.  20,  21.  "  And  they  put  the  fat  upon  the  breasts,  and  he  burnt 
the  fat  upon  the  altar :  and  the  breasts  and  the  right  shoulder 
Aaron  waved  for  a  wave-offering  before  the  Lord ;  as  Moses  com- 
manded." 

The  fat  pieces  of  each  are  laid  on  the  breasts  of  each  ; 
thus  intimating  that  the  inmost  desires,  and  all  nearest 
the  heart,  is  a  ready  offering  to  the  Lord.  Then  the  fat 
was  removed,  and  consumed  in  the  flames  ;  as  if  to 
express  how  the  fire  of  Divine  wrath  descended  upon 
Jesus,  on  his  inmost  soul,  when  that  soul  had  offered  all 
its  strength  and  affections  to  God.  The  fat  was  laid  on 
the  breast,  thereby  to  intimate  the  fullest  and  most  cor- 
dial willingness. 

*  Jarchi  supplies  "  nipfi/*  the  inwards,  as  our  version  does. 


192  AAKON'S  ENTKANCE  ON  HIS  OFFICE. 

These  breasts,  more  fully  expressive  of  complete  de- 
votion to  the  Lord,  now  that  the  fat  had  lain  on  them, 
are  waved  before  the  Lord;  and  the  right  shoulder* 
also,  of  each  animal,  as  already  appointed.  All  are  thus 
heaved  up  toward  the  dwelling-place  of  Jehovah,  that 
the  giving  up  of  the  whole  people  to  him  forever  may 
thereby  be  openly  expressed.  This  is  the  concluding  act. 
Aaron  has  presented  the  people  in  virtue  of  his  office ; 
and  lo  !  the  Lord  has  accepted  them  !  There  is  a  resto- 
ration to  the  fellowship  of  an  offended  G-od ;  for  here  is 
the  example.  This  first  day's  acts  confirm  Israel's  faith 
in  the  truth,  "  There  is  forgiveness  with  if/iee,"  and  at 
the  same  time  in  that  other  awful  truth,  ''  Without 
shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission.''^ 

Vers.  22,  23,  24,  "  And  Aaron  lifted  up  his  hand  toward  the  people, 
and  blessed  them,  and  came  down  from  offering  of  the  sin-offering, 
and  the  burnt-offering,  and  peace-offerings.  And  Moses  and  Aaron 
went  into  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  and  came  out,  and 
blessed  the  people :  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  all 
the  peoj)le.  And  there  came  a  fire  out  from  before  the  Lord,  and 
consumed  upon  the  altar  the  burnt-offering  and  the  fat :  which 
when  all  the  people  saw,  they  shouted,  and  fell  on  their  faces." 

Probably  these  offerings  were  presented  at  the  time  of 
the  morning  sacrifice.  Then  (ver.  23)  Moses  and  Aaron 
retired  into  the  tabernacle.  At  the  time  of  the  evening 
sacrifice  they  came  forth  again,  and  stood  at  the  altar. 
At  this  hour,  Aaron  stood  still  and  looked  upon  all  the 
people  as  they  crowded  the  space  in  front  of  the  brazen 
altar.  As  he  thus  stood,  the  eyes  of  all  the  multitude 
turned  toward  him.    Whereupon,  amid  the  awful  solem- 

*  The  singular  is  used ;  but  this  is  in  reference  to  chap,  vii,  34.  It 
means  the  appointed  right  shoulder,  which  always  was  the  right  shoulder 
of  each  peace-offering." 


CHAPTER   IX.  193 

nity  and  deep  silence,  he  lifted  up  his  hands — the  very- 
hands  that  had  been  wet  with  blood — and  blessed  the 
people.  It  was  as  if  he  was  pouring  over  them  all  the 
grace  and  peace  that  flow  from  the  blood  of  Jesus  !  And 
this  done,  "he  came  down  from  offering  the  sin-offering, 
and  the  burnt-offering,  and  peace-offerings."  It  was  thus 
that  Jesus  blessed  his  people, — his  faithful  witnesses  who 
stood  around  their  altar  on  the  Mount  of  Olives — lifting 
up  the  very  hands  that  so  lately  had  been  nailed  to  the 
cross.  And  having  done  so,  he  left  the  place  of  sacrifice 
and  went  into  the  holiest  of  all,  there  to  receive  more 
communications  from  his  Father,  and  then  to  come  forth 
again  to  give  more  blessing. 

Aaron,  leaving  the  altar,  went  into  the  holy  place. 
There  Moses  stood  with  him,  and,  as  representative  of 
Jehovah,  hands  over  to  his  care  all  the  vessels  of  the 
sanctuary,  and  commits  the  ordering  of  all  to  him.  Even 
as  Jesus,  on  his  ascension — on  his  leaving  the  place 
where  he  had  made  the  sacrifice — received  from  the  Fa- 
ther (Rev.  i.  1 ;  Ps.  Ixviii.  18  ;  Eph.  iv.  8)  authority  as 
Mediator,  or  as  the  Captain  of  salvation  now  made  per- 
fect (Heb.  ii.  10),  to  administer  the  affairs  of  the  sanc- 
tuary. It  was  in  reference  to  this  that  he  said,  as  he 
was  entering  in,  "  All  power  is  committed  unto  me  in 
heaven  and  on  earth."  (Matt,  xxviii.  18.)  He  is  there 
now,  managing  their  interests  for  them  above,  preparing 
many  mansions.  ''  The  Father  hath  committed  all 
things  into  his  hands." 

His  coming  out  again  will  be  like  Aaron's,  in  order  to 
bless  the  people  anew.  The  people  remained  in  the 
courts,  expecting  the  re-appearance  of  Aaron  and  Moses. 
And  so  the  Lord's  people  remain  with  their  eye  and  heart 
on  the  altar,  looking  for  the  second  coming  of  their  Priest, 

9 


194  AARON'S  ENTRANCE   ON  HIS  OFFICE. 

in  the  Father's  glory  as  well  as  his  own.  ^'  The  glory 
of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  all  the  people"  of  Israel  that 
day ;  and  some  of  the  bright  fire  of  that  glory  shot  down 
on  the  altar  and  consumed  the  pieces  of  the  sacrifices, 
thus  giving  the  last  attestation  required  of  complete  ac- 
ceptance. In  all  this  we  see  the  very  figure  and  outlines 
of  the  Redeemer's  second  coming  "  to  those  that  look  for 
him."  His  glory  will  thus  appear,  when  it  is  now  the 
evening  of  the  world's  day,  and  that  glory,  investing  the 
person  of  the  Son  of  man — the  Lamb  of  Grod — will  give 
the  last  and  most  indubitable  proof  that  he  is  well  pleas- 
ing to  the  Father.  He  shall  appear  the  second  time 
^''without  sin,  unto  salvation.'^''  The  sin  consumed,  for- 
ever done  away,  nothing  is  left  for  the  people  but  the 
completing  of  their  joy  and  their  holiness.  What  a  shout 
of  ecstacy  shall  burst  from  them  all  then !  Yet  how 
deeply  awed  and  reverent  they  shall  be  !  Forgiveness* 
produces  holy  awe,  even  now,  wherever  felt.  The  people 
shout  and  fall  prostrate  before  him.  "  To  him  shall 
every  knee  bow,  and  every  tongue  confess,  that  he  is 
Lord,  to  the  glory  of  Grod  the  Father."  0,  our  High 
Priest,  now  within  the  tabernacle  not  made  with  hands, 
perfect  that  which  concerneth  us  !  Put  the  bread  on  the 
golden  table,  that  we  may  never  want  our  better  than 
angels'  food.  Pour  in  daily  the  olive-oil,  that  the  lamps 
of  thy  golden  candlesticks  may  never  be  dim  in  this  dark, 
gloomy  world.     Present  thy  incense  with  every  prayer 

*  Heb.  xii.  28,  29,  receives  a  beautiful  illustration  here.  "  Grace,"  for- 
giving love,  teaches  to  serve  God  with  "  reverence  and  godly  fear  ;"  for 
vi^hile  it  brings  us  to  his  nearest  presence,  it  shows  him  to  us  as  a  God  who 
consumes  iniquity.  "  Our  God  is  a  consuming  fire P  The  light  that  guides 
us  into  his  presence  is  the  very  blaze  of  the  sacrifice  on  which  our  sins  are 
laid. 


CHAPTER  IX.  195 

of  ours,  with  every  groan,  with  every  sigh  of  the  prisoner  ! 
And  soon,  soon  come  forth  again !  yea,  even  before  we 
have  slept  with  our  fathers,  if  it  seem  good  in  thy  sight ; 
come  forth  to  bless  us,  and  to  receive  the  shout  of  multi- 
tudes adoring  and  confessing  that  thou  art  Lord  alone  ! 


€^t  /tntrag  nf  tjit  ^ri^tlii  Hititnl. 


"  SEE  THAT  YE  REFUSE  NOT  HIM  THAT  SPEAKETH,  FOR  IF  THEY  ESCAPED  NOT 
WHO  REFUSED  HIM  THAT  SPAKE  ON  EARTH,  MUCH  MORE  SHALL  NOT  WE  ESCAPE, 
IF  WE  TURN  AWAY  FROM  HIM  THAT  SPEAKETH  FROM  HEAVEN." Heb.  xil.  26. 


CHAPTER    X. 

Vers.  1,  2,  "And  Nadab  and  Abihu,  the  sons  of  Aaron,  took  either  of 
them  his  censer,  and  put  fire  therein,  and  put  incense  thereon,  and 
offered  strange  fire  before  the  Lord,  wliich  he  commanded  them  not. 
And  there  went  out  fire  from  the  Lord,  and  devoured  them,  and 
they  died  before  the  Lord." 

This  event  occured  at  a  time  when  its  effect  was  likely 
to  spread  the  most  solemn  awe  over  priest  and  people ; 
and  occurring,  as  it  did,  in  the  persons  of  Aaron's  sons, 
who  were  men  of  station  and  office,  the  influence  of  the 
lesson  taught  would  diffuse  itself  over  all  ranks  of  men 
in  the  camp. 

After  spending  the  day  in  the  manner  mentioned  in 
the  former  chapter — after  presenting  the  blood  (vers.  12, 
13,  18,  and  seeing  their  father,  Aaron,  go  in  with  Moses 
into  the  holy  place — they  seem  to  have  felt  impatient  at 
not  being  allowed  to  take  a  more  prominent  part  in  con- 
ducting the  services.  And  perhaps  they  thought  that 
they,  too,  might  enter  the  holy  place  and  offer  incense. 
Accordingly,    next   morning,  it  would  appear,  they  both 


CHAPTER  X.  197 

engaged  in  a  most  daring  and  presumptuous  project.  If, 
as  many  believe  from  vers.  9, 10,  they  had  drank  too  freely, 
and  so  become  elated,  their  sin  might  be  reckoned  a 
sudden  temptation.  But  I  rather  suppose  that  it  was  a 
deliberate  sin,  proceeding  from  a  jealous  sullen  heart; 
and  the  injunction  in  vers.  9,  10,  like  that  of  Ezekiel 
xliv.  21,  was  suggested  at  such  a  time  by  the  fact,  that 
what  they  did  deliberately  others  would  be  much  and 
often  tempted  to  do  suddenly^  through  the  influence  of 
such  excitement. 

The  expression,  "  Which  he  commanded  them  not^"^ 
applies  to  the  many  ingredients  that  were  contrary  to 
God's  will ;  and  the  force  of  it  is  equal  to,  "  which  he 
had  expressly  forbidden^''  Their  motive,  the  strange 
fire  used,  the  time  when  it  was  done,  were  all  opposed 
to  the  Lord's  command  ;  and  the  example  of  disobedi- 
ence thus  set  was  fitted  to  be  awfully  ruinous  in  the 
camp. 

It  was  probably  done  in  the  morning  of  the  day  follow- 
ing the  events  of  last  chapter.  For  ver.  16,  where  the 
question  about  eating  the  sin-offering  is  asked,  shows 
that  certainly  it  did  not  take  place  later  than  the  second 
day ;  since  the  law  required  all  remnants  of  the  sin- 
offering  to  be  burnt ^  if  kept  beyond  that  time.  And  ver. 
16  would  also  lead  us  to  think  that  the  sons  of  Aaron 
had  been  occupied  with  other  sacrifices  since  the  conse- 
cration-day ;  for  Moses  searches  for  the  goat  of  the  sin- 
offering.  If,  too,  the  goat  had  been  burnt  on  the  very 
day  of  the  consecration,  Moses  could  scarcely  have  failed 
to  observe  the  flames,  as  on  that  day  there  was  no  other 
offering  but  the  priest's. 

Nadab  and  Abihu  took  a  censer,  and  kindled  their 
incense.     But  they  did  so, — 1.  At  a  time  not  command- 


198  THE  FENCING  OF  THE  PRIESTLY  RITUAL. 

ed  :  Aaron  should  have  been  consulted  for  this.  2.  In  a 
place,  or  in  a  part  of  the  tabernacle  not  commanded  ;  for 
they  were  in  the  open  court  (ver.  4 ;  where  Uzziel's  sons, 
who  were  only  Levites,  went  to  them),  not  at  the  golden 
altar.  3.  In  a  manner  contrary  to  the  Lord's  declared 
will :  for  the  priests  understood  that  the  only  fire  to  be 
used  in  the  tabernacle  was  to  be  fire /row  the  altar — fire 
that  had  come  from  heaven.  Probably,  too,  they  used 
what  spices  were  at  hand,  not  the  proper  incense.  The 
Lord  had  commanded  neither  the  time,  place,  nor  manner. 
But  if  the  sinner's  eye  be  blind  to  God,  it  sees  not  any- 
thing of  the  Lord's  authority.  And  neither  education, 
nor  station,  nor  privileges  (see  Exod.  xxiv.  ver.  9),  are 
sufficient  to  keep  men  from  this  presumption.  The  heart 
may  continue  unrenewed  after  all  such  blessings. 

The  Lord  forthwith  vindicated  his  own  honor.  These 
are  priests,  and  they  stand  in  the  holy  courts,  and  they 
hold  the  censers  of  the  tabernacle  in  their  hands,  and 
the  cloud  of  incense  is  ascending  from  them  ;  but  the 
Lord  is  dishonored  under  that  cloud  of  incense,  and  there- 
fore he  must  go  forth  in  majesty.  The  stroke  comes 
''^  from  before  the  Lord^'' — the  fire  shoots  across  the  mercy- 
seat,  and  through  the  holy  place,  and  finds  the  sinners 
under  their  cloud  of  incense  I  How  awful  to  observe  that 
it  crosses  the  mercy-seat  to  reach  them  I  And  though 
their  cry  reaches  his  ear  over  the  mercy-seat,  it  is  too 
late  noiv!  The  Lord  has  risen  up.  It  is  like  the  events 
that  will  attend  Christ's  second  coming  when  from  him- 
self— the  mercy-seat  itself — fire  shall  consume  his  foes, 
and  their  cry,  though  the  La^nb  himself  hear  it,  is  in 
vain.  He  consumes  all  that  have  defied  him  ;  and  many 
among  these  shall  be  found  in  the  act  of  holding  up  the 
incense  of  vain  worship  to  the  Lord. 


CHAPTER  X.  199 

WilUworsMp  in  any  form,  Popery,  Puseyism,  formality, 
Idolatry,  is  hateful  to  the  Lord's  holy  nature.  His  will 
is  holiness. 

Ver.  3.  "  Then  Moses  said  unto  Aaron,  This  is  that  the  Lord  spake, 
saying,  I  will  be  sanctified  in  them  that  come  nigh  me,  and  before 
all  the  people  I  will  be  glorified.     And  Aaron  held  his  peace." 

The  news  spread  through  the  camp.  Moses  and 
Aaron  hastened  to  the  spot.  They  stood  together  and 
gazed  on  the  dead  bodies.  As  they  gazed  in  awful 
amazement,  Moses  turned  to  his  brother  and  said,  "  This 
is  that  the  Lord  spake,  saying,''^  &c.  This  is  an  illus- 
tration of  the  same  holiness  we  saw  at  Sinai,  when  he 
said,  "  Let  the  priests  ivhich  cotjie  near  to  the  Lord  sanc- 
tify themselves,  lest  the  Lord  break  forth  upon  themP 
(Exod.  xix.  22.)  Aaron  felt  what  Moses  said  :  he  bowed  in 
silent  submission — one  look  on  his  lost  sons — another  on 
his  exalted  and  glorified  God. 

It  may  be  thus  at  the  last  day.  The  Father  will  point 
to  the  ungodly  as  objects  of  his  just  displeasure  ;  and  the 
Intercessor,  who  used  to  yearn  over  these  sons  of  men, 
shall  then  say,  "  Let  them  go  down  quick  to  hell ;"  and 
the  redeemed  respond,  over  the  smoke  of  their  burning, 
''Hallelujah!"  We  can  understand  Aaron's  silent  sub- 
mission, as  he  saw  G-od's  holy  act  of  judgment  on  these 
presumptuous  sinners  ;  but  could  we  have  gone  farther, 
and  sympathized  with  him,  had  he  even  lifted  up  his 
hands  to  his  God,  and  with  a  holy  gladness  in  his  coun- 
tenance, cried  in  presence  of  the  camp,  ''  Hallelujah, 
hallelujah  ?"  Such  shall  yet  be  the  feeling  of  the  redeem- 
ed over  their  own  kindred  who  offer  strange  fire.  Stand- 
ing in  Aaron's  position,  with  all  Aaron's  submission, 
but  with  a   profoundly  holy  triumph,  to  which  Aaron 


200  THE   FENCING   OF   THE   PRIESTLY  EITUAL. 

was  a  stranger,  "  The  righteous  shall  rejoice  when  he 
seeth  the  vengeance  !  He  shall  wash  his  feet  {i.  e.  be 
refreshed)  in  the  blood  of  the  wicked."  (Ps.  Iviii.  10.) 
Angels  are  able  now  to  feel  thus  toward  devils,  who  once 
were  most  dear  and  beloved  brethren  I  The  glory  of 
G-od  will  so  appear  as  to  hide  all  else  from  our  view. 
His  glory  will  cause  us  to  cry,  "Hallelujah!"  (Rev. 
xix.  3.) 

Vers.  4,  5,  6,  7.  "  And  Moses  called  Mishael  and  Elzaphan,  the  sons 
of  Uzziel  the  uncle  of  Aaron,  and  said  unto  them,  Come  near,  carry 
your  brethren  from  before  the  sanctuary  out  of  the  camp.  So  they 
went  near,  and  carried  them  in  their  coats  out  of  the  camp ;  as 
Moses  had  said.  And  Moses  said  unto  Aaron,  and  unto  Eleazar 
and  unto  Ithamar,  his  sons.  Uncover  not  your  heads,  neither  rend 
your  clothes ;  lest  ye  die,  and  lest  wrath  come  upon  all  the  people  : 
but  let  your  brethren,  the  whole  house  of  Israel,  bewail  the  burn- 
ing which  the  Lord  hath  kindled.  And  ye  shall  not  go  out  from 
the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  lest  ye  die :  for  the 
anointing  oil  of  the  Lord  is  upon  you.     And  they  did  according  to 

*     the  word  of  Moses." 

Whoever  saw  the  dead  bodies  saw  at  once  that  it  was 
the  Lord's  stroke  !  for  the  coats — the  prie  stly  coats,  were 
left  unconsumed.  The  Lord  directed  the  fire,  as  he 
often  directs  lightning,  in  such  a  manner  that  the  persons 
were  struck  but  nothing  besides.  The  stroke  came  on 
guilt  alone  I  And  all  in  the  camp  saw  them  ;  for  the 
dead  bodies  were  "  carried  ouV  before  all.  A  prophet 
might  have  pointed  them  from  that  sad  scene  to  the 
coming  day  of  shame  and  vengeance.  "  They  shall  go 
forth,  and  look  upon  the  carcasses  of  the  men  that  have 
transgressed  against  me."  (Isa.  Ixvi.  24.)  All  saw  their 
presumption ;  all  must  see  their  doom.  All  saw  the  law 
broken  by  their  hands  ;  all  must  see  the  broken  law 
honored  in  their  death. 


CHAPTER  X.  201 

And  the  honor  done  to  the  law  is  made  the  more  appa- 
rent and  brought  closer  home  to  the  heart,  by  the  circum- 
stance that  nothing  is  done  that  could  have  been  avoided. 
No  feeling  of  the  tender,  paternal  heart  of  Aaron  is  need- 
lessly injured  ;  none  of  the  feelings  of  brother  to  brother 
are  violated.  In  order  to  preserve  these  natural  affections 
untouched,  neither  Aaron  nor  any  of  his  family  are  asked 
to  take  part  in  the  mournful  duty  of  removing  the  con- 
sumed bodies — the  ashes — of  the  men  who  have  them- 
selves become  a  burnt-offering  in  the  Lord's  sore  dis- 
pleasure. This  duty  is  laid  upon  the  sons  of  Uzziel, 
cousins  of  the  dead.  The  mourning  family  receive  a 
message  (ver.  6)  to  sit  still  without  putting  aside  their 
priestly  character, — not  to  dishevel  their  hair,  or  rend 
their  clothes,  for  they  could  not  execute  their  duties  in 
the  sanctuary,  if  they  were  to  give  themselves  to  mourn- 
ing. Priests  must  restrain  even  the  strongest  natural 
feelings  when  these  come  into  collision  with  duty  to  G-od. 
Our  Master,  who  wept  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus,  and 
spoke  to  his  mother  on  the  cross,  yet  would  not  be  turned 
aside  from  duty  by  such  feelings.  "  Consider o  te  in 
cruce  de  matre  sollicitum^  cui  volenti  loqui  tecum  quum 
evangelizares^  negdras  colloquium.''^  (Cyprian  de  Pass.) 
"  I  think  of  thee,  how  thou  shewedst  such  concern  on 
the  cross  for  thy  mother,  though  when  thou  wert  preach- 
ing the  Gospel,  thou  woulclst  not  allow  her  to  speak 
with  thee." 

But  the  special  reason  seems  to  be  this,  they  bore  a 
public  character  as  representing  to  the  people  God's 
views  of  truth  and  God's  opinion  upon  all  matters. 
Therefore,  as  his  representatives,  they  must  show  that 
such  an  act  of  judgment,  however  severe,  was  quite 
deserved   and  brought  glory  to  his   name.     They  who 

9* 


202  THE  FENCING  OF  THE  PKIESTLY  EITUAL. 

had  most  to  do  in  exhibiting  the  mercy  of  Grod  at  the 
altar  were  thus  foremost  in  testifying  that  Jehovah  con- 
tinued to  be  holy  and  righteous,  true  and  faithful. 

It  was  for  a  similar  reason  that  Ezekiel  was  not  to 
lament  his  wife  (xxiv.  16,  17).  He  stood  as  represent- 
ative of  Grod ;  for  it  is  there  expressly  interpreted  to  be 
done  with  this  view.  "  Ezekiel  is  unto  you  a  sign"  (ver. 
24).  And  here  verse  7,  *'  For  the  anointing  oil  of  the 
Lord  is  upon  you,"  q.  d.,  you  are  men  set  apart  for  his 
use. 

It  is  not  because  the  Lord  disapproves  of  our  mourning 
over  the  dead,  for  he  permits  all  Israel  to  lament  this 
''^  burning'^ — both  in  its  cause  and  in  its  effect — both  for 
the  sin  that  occasioned  it,  and  the  sorrow  that  resulted. 
But  it  is  to  show  how  hereafter  even  friends  shall  approve 
of  the  Lord's  act  of  justice  on  the  ungodly,  while  the 
smoke  ascendeth  forever  and  ever.  The  sons  of  Aaron 
are  to  show  this,  being  representative  characters. 

Vers.  8,  9,  10,  11.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Aaron,  saying,  Do  not 
drink  wine  nor  strong  drink,  thou,  nor  thy  sons  with  thee,  when  ye 
go  into  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  lest  ye  die  :  it  shall  be  a 
statute  forever  throughout  your  generations:  And  that  ye  may 
put  difference  between  holy  and  unholy,  and  between  unclean  and 
clean;  And  that  ye  may  teach  the  children  of  Israel  all  the 
statutes  which  the  Lord  hath  spoken  unto  them  by  the  hand  of 
Moses." 

Oftentimes  have  seasons  of  affliction  been  the  times 
when  the  Lord  gave  new  communications  to  his  people. 
And  this  season  of  judgment  brought  out  a  new  precept ; 
a  precept  fitted  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  the  offering 
of  strange  fire,  or  any  similar  will- worship.  It  appears 
from  Ezekiel  xliv.  21  (if  we  are  to  use  analogy  as  a 
guide),  who  speaks  of  the  ^^  Inner  court^^^  that  this  com- 


CHAPTER  X.  203 

mand  refers  to  the  times  when  the  priests  engaged  in 
any  holy  service  whether  in  the  court,  or  in  what  was 
more  properly  the  tabernacle. 

A  priest  must  have  his  soul  calm,  clear,  steady.  He 
is  to  be  "  filled  with  the  Spirit,"  not  with  "  new  wine 
wherein  is  excess."  (Ephes.  v.  18.)  In  a  holy  frame, 
discerning  between  clean  and  unclean,  ready  to  teach 
others  also,  he  is  to  enter  the  tabernacle.  In  two  things 
he  is  to  be  the  opposite  of  Nadab  and  Abihu ;  he  is  not 
to  be  excited  with  any  false,  vain  desire  ;  and  then  he  is 
to  be  exactly  observant  of  the  Lord's  statutes  (ver.  11), 
so  that  he  would  be  ready  to  teach  others  also  to  keep 
them.  Hence,  he  must  keep  away  from  every  indulgence 
and  every  appearance  of  evil ;  from  every  tempting 
object,  and  every  excitement  not  drawn  from  Him  to 
whom  he  is  approaching. 

0,  what  a  baptism  of  the  Holy  Grhost  ministers  now 
need,  in  order  to  be  free  of  every  foreign  aid  and  false 
excitement,  and  be  able  to  minister  calmly,  holily,  and 
according  to  the  Lord's  revealed  message ! 

Vers.  12,  13,  14,  15.  "And  Moses  spake  unto  Aaron,  and  unto 
Eleazar  and  unto  Ithamar,  his  sons  that  were  left.  Take  the  meat- 
offering that  remaineth  of  the  offerings  of  the  Lord  made  by  fire, 
and  eat  it  without  leaven  beside  the  altar  :  for  it  is  most  holy :  And 
ye  shall  eat  it  in  the  holy  place,  because  it  is  thy  due,  and  thy  sons' 
due,  of  the  sacrifices  of  the  Lord  made  by  fire :  for  so  I  am  com- 
manded. And  the  wave  breast  and  heave  shoulder  shall  ye  eat  in 
a  clean  place ;  thou,  and  thy  sons,  and  thy  daughters  with  thee : 
for  they  be  thy  due,  and  thy  sons'  due,  which  are  given  out  of  the 
sacrifices  of  peace-offerings  of  the  children  of  Israel.  The  heave 
shoulder  and  the  wave  breast  shall  they  bring  with  the  offerings 
made  by  fire  of  the  fat,  to  wave  it  for  a  wave-offering  before  the 
Lord  ;  and  it  shall  be  thine,  and  thy  sons'  with  thee,  by  a  statute 
forever ;  as  the  Lord  hath  commanded." 

The  ''''holy  place''^  here  meant  is  defined  by  ^'beside 


204         THE  FENCING  OF  THE   PRIESTLY  RITUAL. 

the  altar^''  (ver  12).  It  is  the  court  made  holy  by  what 
was  done  in  it.  See  cliap.  vi.  16.  The  "  clean  place^^  is 
any  spot  in  their  dwellings,  not  defiled  ceremonially. 

The  reason  for  this  reiteration  of  injunctions  which 
have  been  already  given — at  least  in  substance — in 
former  chapters,  seems  to  be,  lest  Aaron  and  his  sons 
should  suppose  that  they  had  forfeited  their  privileges  by 
that  awful  sin  committed  by  some  of  their  number.  But 
here  thoy  are  assured  that  all  their  privileges  remain  to 
them  as  full  as  ever.  They  are  thus  gently  led  into  the 
true  consolation  under  all  that  had  happened.  They  are 
reminded  of  the  Lord's  continuing  friendship  and  love ; 
and  with  this  assurance  the  Lord  binds  up  those  whom 
he  has  wounded.  He  wipes  away  their  tears  by  present- 
ing to  them  his  unvarying  and  unchangeable  love ;  for 
this  is  what  is  exhibited  to  them  in  receiving  the  allotted 
portions  of  the  sacrifices  of  peace-offering.  Herein  the 
love  of  God  our  Saviour  appears  !  0  !  what  tender,  con- 
siderate kindness  is  discernible  under  this  veil  of  types. 
He  has  here  made  his  love  abound  "  in  all  wisdom  and 
prudence" — so  seasonable  and  so  full.  A  new  manifes- 
tation of  a  reconciled  Grod  is  the  oil  he  pours  into  their 
wounds  I 

Vers.  16,  17,  18.  "  And  Moses  diligently  sought  the  goat  of  the  sin- 
offering,  mid,  behold,  it  was  burnt :  and  he  was  angry  with  Eleazar 
and  Ithamar,  the  sons  of  Aaron  which  were  left  alive,  saying, 
Wherefore  have  ye  not  eaten  the  sin-offering  in  the  holy  place, 
seeing  it  is  most  holy,  and  God  hath  given  it  you  to  bear  the  ini- 
quity of  the  congregation,  to  make  atonement  for  them  before  the 
Lord  ?  Beliold,  the  blood  of  it  was  not  brought  in  within  the  holy 
place:  ye  should  indeed  have  eaten  it  in  the  holy  place,  as  I 
commanded." 

See  here  Moses   manifesting    great  jealousy   for  the 
honor  of  his  Grod .     ' '  Moses  was  faithful  in  all  his  house." 


CHAPTER  X.  205 

(Heb.  iii.  2.)  He  does  not  address  Aaron,  but  his  sons — 
yet  it  seems  from  ver.  19,  that  Aaron,  too,  was  present. 
He  suspected  that  there  might  be  some  deviation  from 
prescribed  rules  at  such  a  time ;  and  hence,  before  he 
spoke,  he  ^'diligently  souglit.'''' 

It  should  not  have  been  "  burnt, ''^  but  "  eaten  ;"  for  in 
chap.  vi.  30,  the  rule  was  laid  down.  If  the  blood  of 
the  sin-offering  was  brought  into  the  holy  place  (as  was 
done  if  it  was  the  sin-offering  of  a  public  person,  or  of  a 
public  nature),  then  it  was  to  be  burned ;  but  if  other- 
wise, it  was  to  be  eaten.  But,  the  sin-offering  here  was 
one  offered  for  the  priests  as  individual  sinners,  and 
therefore,  was  not  to  be  brought  into  the  holy  place  to 
reconcile  withal.  Hence,  Aaron  and  his  family  should 
have  eaten  it,  according  to  chap.  vi.  26-29. 

Besides,  Moses  perceived  that  by  this  deviation  from 
the  prescribed  order  they  had  lost  a  privilege.  He  says, 
*'  Seeing  it  is  most  holy,  and  God  hath  given  it  you''' 
(ver.  18),  hinting  that  it  was  a  privilege  they  would 
have  found  comfort  in  availing  themselves  of  at  such  a 
time,  it  being  a  token  of  Grod's  kindness  to  them.  G-od 
may  tenderly  allow  us  to  omit  the  duty,  while  it  may  be 
foolish  in  us  to  use  the  permission,  as  thereby  we  lose  the 
privilege. 

The  subject  of  ver.  17  deserves  more  particular  notice. 
The  sense  of  that  verse  is,  "  G-od  has  given  it  to  you 
that,  in  bearing  the  iniquity  of  the  congregation,  you 
may  have  an  atonement  for  your  own  souls  first  of  all." 
It  is  only  incidentally  that  the  expression  ^'•Bearing  sin'''' 
occurs  in  Leviticus,  viz.,  here  and  in  chapter  xxii.  9.  But 
it  may  be  right  to  notice  what  we  may  gather  from 
these  i^o  references. 

We  gather  from  this  passage — 1,  That  the  individual 


206  THE   FENCING  OF  THE  PKIESTLY  RITUAL. 

who  bears  the  sin  of  others  must  himself  be  pure  from 
these  sins.  This  was  signified  by  the  priest's  offering  a 
sin-offering  by  which  all  his  own  sins  were  borne  away. 
2d,  That  this  expression  means  more  than  enduring  the 
effects  of  sin.  For  a  personally  guilty  person  might  have 
done  this.  But  farther ;  chap.  xxii.  9  teaches  us,  3d, 
that  to  "  bear  sin'''  implies  that  the  person  is  reckoned 
guilty  of  the  sin.  Hence,  when  it  is  said  that  the  priests 
bore  the  iniquity  of  the  sanctuary  (Numb,  xviii.  1),  the 
sense  is, — they  were  reckoned  guilty  until  they  had  put 
that  guilt  upon  the  sacrifice,  and  had  seen  that  sacrifice 
burnt  to  ashes.  Isa.  liii.  6-11,  and  2  Peter  ii.  24  must 
be  understood  in  this  manner.  For  we  now  see  that  to 
'^  bear  the  sin  of  other s'''^  implies  that  the  priest  is  reck- 
oned guilty,  by  imputation,  of  sins  with  which  he  was 
not  personally  chargeable  at  all,  up  to  the  moment  when 
he  has  cleared  these  sins  away  in  the  fire  of  wrath  which 
consumes  the  sacrifice. 

Ver.  19.  "And  Aaron  said  unto  Moses,  Behold,  this  day  have  they 
offered  their  sin-offering  and  their  burnt-offering  before  the  Lord ; 
and  such  things  have  befallen  me :  and  if  I  had  eaten  the  sin-offer- 
ing to-day,  should  it  have  been  accepted  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  ?" 

Aaron  first  defends  his  sons,  and  then  himself.  It 
seems  clear  to  me  that  ^''the  sin-offering  and  burnt- 
offering''''  of  his  sons,  spoken  of  here,  must  have  been  pre- 
sented by  themselves,  and  are  not  the  offering  of  chap, 
ix,  8-12.  I  understand  this  to  have  occurred  the  day 
after  Aaron's  consecration,  and  his  sons  had  that  morn- 
ing presented  sin-offering  and  burnt-offering  for  them- 
selves.*^    Hence,  Moses   addressed  them  (ver.  16),  and 

*  There  remains  one  difficulty,  viz,,  where  it  is  said  that  the  common 
priests  were  to  begin  as  Aaron  began,  by  presenting  a  sin-offering  and 
burnt-offering  for  themselves  ?    The  answer  is,  that  from  Heb.  vii.  21,  Lev. 


CHAPTER  X.  207 

Aaron  in  replying  says,  *'  They  have  done  part  of  the 
duty" — ''  they  have  offered.'''*  Now,  as  this  sin-offering 
was  for  Nadab  and  Abihu,  now  dead,  as  well  as  for 
Eleazar  and  Ithamar,  it  could  not  be  used  as  other 
similar  sin-ofFerings  were  ;  for  the  Lord  had  interrupted 
the  usual  rites  attendant  on  such  a  sacrifice.  It  could 
not  be  said  to  be  accepted, — how,  then,  could  Aaron  and 
his  sons  eat  of  it,  as  if  it  had  been  accepted  ?  Had  they 
sat  down  to  feast  on  it,  they  would  virtually  be  declaring 
their  belief  that  the  Lord  had  not  refused  to  accept  the 
sin-ofFering  in  which  Nadab  and  Abihu  had  taken  part, 
whereas  there  were  manifest  tokens  of  displeasure  all 
around.  In  these  circumstances,  could  Aaron  and  his 
sons  eat  in  faith  ?  No ;  the  family  felt  that  there  was  a 
cloud  over  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  ! 

Ver.  20.     "  And  when  Moses  heard  that,  he  was  content." 

He  saw  that  Aaron  entered  into  the  spirit  and  mean- 
ing of  the  rites  he  ministered  among  ;  and  was  satisfied. 
And  it  is  to  be  noticed  that  this  attention  to  the  spirit, 
and  not  to  the  mere  letter,  of  the  ceremonial  law,  at  the 
very  outset,  indicated  to  Israel  that  the  things  signified 
by  these  types  were  their  chief  concern,  not  the  bare 
types  themselves.  And  how  interesting  to  find  Aaron 
thus  exhibiting  his  understanding  of  the  emblems  of  the 
tabernacle.  Aaron's  service  was  not  formality  ;  it  was  a 
worship  done  in  the  spirit ;  and  where  the  spirit  could 
not  be  brought  along  with  the  rite,  he  left  the  rite  undone  ! 
Herein  he  glorified  God, — he  gave  him  the  honor  due 

xvi.  16, 17,  and  other  places,  it  appears  that  no  priest  could  proceed  to  offer 
the  sacrifices  of  others  without  first  presenting  these  offerings  for  his  own 
sins.  Now  that  morning  the  people  had  begun  to  bring  their  offerings, 
and  Aaron's  sons  had  entered  on  their  duties. 


208  THE   FENCING  OF  THE   PRIESTLY  RITUAL. 

unto  his  name !     He  felt  that  it  was  not  worship  at  all, 
if  his  soul  was  not  engaged ;  for  "  God  is  a  spirits 


Thus  we  have  a  glimpse  into  the  hidden  life  of  Israel's 
worship,  at  the  very  moment  when  undeviating  attention 
to  the  statutes  given  is  enforced  by  a  stroke  of  severe 
righteousness. 

But  after  these  calamities  befalling  men  of  the  priestly 
line,  and  testifying  that  they  are  sinners,  and  after  so 
many  various  ceremonies  that  all  spoke  of  the  need  of 
atonement,  it  is  sweet  for  us  to  turn  for  a  moment  to  the 
One  High  Priest,  in  whom  all  was  summed  up  and  per- 
fected. We  take  Daniel's  well-known  prophecy,  to  find 
a  full-length  portrait  of  our  Priest.     It  runs  thus — 

*'  Seventy  weeks  are  determined 
Upon  thy  people,  and  upon  thy  holy  city ; 

To  finish  the  transgression,  [margin,  to  restrain.'\ 

And  to  make  an  end  of  sins,  [margin,  to  seal  wj?.] 

And  to  make  reconciliation  for  iniquity, 
And  to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness, 

And  to  seal  up  the  vision  and  prophecy,  [margin,  prophet^ 

And  to  anoint  the  Most  Holy." — (Dan.  ix.  24.) 

Perhaps  it  might  be  rendered  as  literally,  and  more 
forcibly  by  a  few  alterations.  The  Prophet  is  told  that 
seventy  weeks  must  run  on  ere  these  events  take  place 
— that  is,  the  proposed,  determined  time  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  these  six  great  ends  : — - 

1.  For  the  restraining  of  the  transgression ; 

2.  For  the  putting  the  seal  on  the  sin-offerings ; 

3.  For  making  atonement  for  iniquity  ; 

4.  For  bringing  in  an  everlasting  righteousness ; 

5.  For  putting  the  seal  on  vision  and  prophet ; 

6.  For  anointing  the  Most  Holy  One. 


CHAPTER   X.  209 

We  have  here  Gabriel's  message  regarding  Messiah's 
work  for  men.  In  the  course  of  seventy  weeks,  1.  The 
transgression  shall  be  restrained.  "The  law  entered 
that  the  offence  (to  naQanrca/iaj  s^^B^)  might  abound" 
(Rom.  V.  20) ;  but  no  sooner  is  the  Saviour  come,  than, 
lo  !  the  offence  is  no  longer  overflowing.  Grace  has  the 
opposite  effect  from  law ;  it  restrains  sin.  "  Sin  shall 
not  have  dominion  over  you  ;  for  ye  are  not  under  the 
law,  but  under  grace."  (Rom.  vi.  14.)  And  the  grace 
that  brought  salvation,  flowing  from  the  Saviour,  Messiah, 
was  soon  felt  to  be  thus  powerful;  "Teaching  us  to 
deny  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  and  to  live  soberly, 
righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present  world."  (Titus 
ii.  12.)  2.  The  seal  shall  be  put  on  the  sin-offerings. 
The  article  is  prefixed  to  niJ^ari,  as  if  to  make  it  plain 
that  it  was  "  sin-offerino^s."  The  sealinsr  is  in  the  sense 
of  giving  them  sanction — showing  that  they  were  proper 
views  of  man's  sin  and  Grod's  justice.  This  Jesus  did  by 
fulfilling  the  whole  of  their  typical  meaning,  being  made 
sin  for  us,  and  consumed  to  ashes  without  the  camp,  on 
Calvary.  Thus  he  "  set  to  his  seal"  [Eaq)Q<xyiaEv)  that 
these  were  true  representations  of  God's  holy  law  and 
man's  sin.  (John  iii.  33,  and  Rom.  iv.  11.)  Then, 
3.  The  atonement  for  iniquity  shall  be  actually  brought. 
Hitherto  it  had  all  been  done  in  type ;  but  the  Saviour, 
by  his  one  suffering  and  obedience,  presents  the  reality  to 
God  and  to  man.  He  actually  does  what  the  ceremonies 
of  the  law  pledged  should  be  done.  4.  Everlasting 
righteousness  shall  be  brought  in.  The  Saviour  brought 
us  a  real  righteousness,  as  real  as  was  the  imputation  of 
our  sins  to  him.  It  was  no  more  a  ceremonial  purifica- 
tion only,  or  a  cleansing  from  defilement,  which  lasted 
only  for  a  season,  and  was  lost  by  the  next  touch  of  pol- 


210  THE   FENCING  OF  THE   PEIESTLY  EITUAL. 

lution  ;  He  gives  an  everlasting  righteousness — "  eternal 
redemption."  5.  The  seal  shall  be  put  on  vision  and 
prophet.  Whatever  prophets  have  uttered,  or  seen  in 
vision,  concerning  Messiah,  was  nov7  all  fulfilled  by  Jesus. 
Thus  the  seal  of  truth  was  stamped  on  them  all,  and  they 
were  set  apart  as  attested  and  verified.  6.  The  Most 
Holy  One  shall  be  actually  anointed;  i.e.,  inaugurated 
into  his  office  as  Redeemer,  by  actually  being  born  in 
our  nature,  and  anointed  with  the  Holy  Ghost  from  the 
moment  of  his  birth.  In  other  words,  he  that  is  to 
accomplish  all  those  blessings  shall  appear,  viz.,  he  that 
is  the  true  High  Priest,  "  Holy  of  Holies,"  on  whom 
Grod's  anointing  oil  shall  be  poured,  even  "the  Spirit 
without  measure." 

The  only  doubtful  clause  here  seems  to  be  the  last. 
Many  apply  "  Most  Holy"  to  the  sanctuary,  whereas  we 
here  apply  it  to  Messiah^  as  the  antitype  of,  the  high 
priest.  Is  the  high  priest,  then,  ever  called  D^^'^)5  Tii^P  ' 
Yes;  in  1  Chron  xxiii.  13.  Let  any  one  who  under- 
stands Hebrew  read  that  verse,  and  say  if  it  ought  not 
to  be  there  rendered,  "  And  Aaron  was  separated,  setting 
him  apart  as  holy  of  holies  (Q'^izJ'Ji^  ^^P)'  himself  and  his 
sons  forever,  to  offer  incense."  And  in  a  Jewish  song, 
chanted  by  Joseph  Wolff,  and  which  he  heard  Jews 
sing  in  their  own  tongue,  Messiah  is  celebrated  not  only 
thus — 

"  The  King,  our  Messiah,  shall  come, 
The  Blessed  of  the  Blessed  is  He ;" 

but  also  he  is  celebrated,  as  in  Daniel — 

"  The  King,  our  Messiah,  shall  come, 
The  Holy  of  Holies  is  He." 

Oh,  glorious  Messiah  I     True  High  Priest !     Thou  art 


CHAPTER  X.  211 

all  that  the  prophets  said  of  thee  !  Thou  givest  us  ever- 
lasting righteousness  and  real  atonement !  Thou  satis- 
fiedst  every  claim  made  by  justice,  whose  payment  was 
pledged  by  sacrifice  I  Thou  alone  hast  stayed  the  torrent 
of  sin  I  Soon  wilt  thou  again  appear  ''  without  sin  unto 
salvation,"  and  present  to  the  Father  a  Church  "  w'thout 
spot,  or  blemish,  or  any  such  thing !" 


HmmlirflnrtrB  nf  tljt  fmkm  tm. 


THE  CLEAN  AND  THE  UNCLEAN. 


"  SIN  IS  THE  TRANSGRESSION  OF  THE  LAW." — 1  John  iu.  4. 


CHAPTER   XL 

Ver.  1.     "And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  and  to  Aaron,  saying  unto 
them." 

Hitherto  atonement  has  been  the  theme.  A  fallen 
world  should  relish  that  truth  more  than  any.  Grod 
shows  himself  willing  to  save,  by  thus  fully  setting  atone- 
ment before  us.  And  were  he  to  do  no  more,  the  blame 
of  being  unsaved  would  all  rest  on  man. 

But  now,  as  if  it  were  to  "  compel  men  to  come  in," 
he  opens  up  the  state  of  sinfulness  in  which  this  world 
lies.  The  Lord  wishes  to  make  the  sinner  flee  to  the 
Atonement,  by  creating  in  his  mind  a  loathing  of  sin  that 
so  pollutes  and  defiles.  For  this  end,  he  lays  down  in- 
structions of  a  peculiar  kind,  containing  distinctions  that 
would  every  day  need  to  be  attended  to.  He  first  so 
arranges  the  beasts  they  were  to  eat,  and  those  they  were 
not  to  eat,  that  an  Israelite  would  every  day  meet  an 
object  that  called  forth  his  discrimination  between  clean 
and  unclean.     Thus  they  were  to  be  taught  Grod's  dis- 


CHAPTER  XI.  213 

oernment  of  sin,  and  the  stigma  he  had  set  upon  it. 
Though  there  was  nothing  morally  different  between  one 
beast  and  another,  yet  if  God  put  his  difference  between 
them,  they  must  so  regard  them ;  and  it  was  thus  that 
every  beast  became  to  them  a  remembrancer  of  the  law, 
calling  upon  them  to  distinguish  between  what  was  right 
and  what  was  wrong — what  was  permitted  and  what 
was  forbidden.  The  Lord  thus  set  up  so  many  finger- 
posts that  pointed  Israel  to  the  Fall,  and  reminded  them 
that  they  were  in  a  fallen  world. 

This  chapter  begins  the  subject  of  sin — its  existence  in 
the  world  all  around  us.  Then,  chapter  xii.  teaches  the 
transmission  of  sin ;  chapters  xiii.  and  xiv.,  the  vileness 
of  sin,  and  the  mode  of  putting  away  its  loathsomeness  ; 
and,  lastly,  chapter  xv.,  original  sin  in  all  its  deformity. 
The  Holy  Spirit  would  shut  up  the  world  to  righteous- 
ness through  the  blood  of  Jesus  shed  for  the  most  guilty. 
The  first  fifteen  chapters  of  this  book  treat  of  sin  and  its 
atonement. 

Ver.  2.    "  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  saying,  These  are  the  beasts 
which  ye  shall  eat  among  all  the  beasts  that  are  on  the  earth." 

Some  have  suggested*  that  the  object  of  these  regula- 
tions might  be  to  restrain  the  appetite,  and  might  be 
given  after  the  murmuring  for  quails  recorded  in  Num- 
bers, chap.  xi.  In  this  view,  that  incident  would  be  con- 
sidered as  suggesting  these  rules,  in  the  same  manner  as 
Nadab  and  Abihu's  sin,  in  last  chapter,  suggested  the  re- 
striction about  the  priests  taking  no  wine  before  going 
into  the  sanctuary.  But  this  seems  a  very  ungrounded 
supposition  ;  for  the  distinction  of  clean  and  unclean  ex- 
isted in  Noah's  days. 

*  E.  g.,  Townsend. 


214  REMEMBRANCERS  OF  THE  BROKEN"  LAW. 


It  is,  however,  to  be  noticed,  as  a  remarkable  fact  re- 
garding the  regulations  laid  down  here  for  the  food  of 
Israel,  that  all  the  clean  animals  are  wholesome  for  food 
and  the  fish  that  have  fins  and  scales — viz.,  the  clean — 
are  not  only  safe,  but  nutritious.  Still,  this  is  only  a 
secondary  consideration,  taken  into  account,  no  doubt, 
by  God,  while  he,  in  wisdom  and  love,  appointed  this 
arrangement  for  higher  ends.  It  is  also  worthy  of  notice, 
that  the  wisdom  which  selected  the  clean  and  the  un- 
clean as  early  as  the  days  of  Noah,  foresaw  what  animals 
would  be  worshipped  and  used  by  idolaters.  Hence  we 
find  them  answering  that  use  also,  while  still  something 
far  higher  is  the  main  thing  in  view. 

To  imbue  the  mind  of  Israel  with  moral  distinctions 
was  the  grand  and  primary  use  of  this  arrangement.  It 
was  so  in  Noah's  days,  and  probably  in  Adam's ;  but  now 
the  development  of  that  system  takes  place  more  fully  ; 
just  as  in  the  case  of  the  various  sorts  of  offerings. 

In  proof  that  to  teach  Israel  to  put  a  difference  between 
the  clean  and  unclean  in  things  moral  was  the  end  of 
these  typical  distinctions^  we  might  refer  to  verses  44, 
45.  And  also  we  might  refer  to  Peter's  vision,  in  Acts 
X.  12,  14,  where  he  is  shown  that  the  idolatrous  Grentiles, 
so  long  unclean,  are  now  to  be  admitted  into  fellowship 
with  Israel.  There  we  are  clearly  taught  that  there  was 
a  typical  reference  to  sin  in  these  ordinances. 

We  should  join  the  last  clause  with  ver.  3,  and  read 
thus — ".These  are  the  living  creatures  (s^^nn)  which  ye 
may  eat.  Of  all  large  beasts  (f^'Svl^)  that  are  on  the 
earth,  whatsoever  parteth  the  hoof,"  &c. 

Vers.  3,  4.     "  Whatsoever  parteth  the  hoof,  and  is  cloven-footed,  and 
cheweth  the  cud,  among  the  beasts,  that  shall  ye  eat.     Nevertheless 


CHAPTER  XI.  215 

these  Bhall  ye  not  eat  of  them  that  chew  the  cud,  or  of  them 
that  divide  the  hoof,  as  the  camel,  because  he  cheweth  the  cud,  but 
divideth  not  the  hoof ;  he  is  unclean  unto  you." 

We  have  another  table  of  the  clean  and  unclean  in 
Deuteronomy,  chap,  xiv.,  and  some  apparent  differences 
occur.  But  the  reconciliation  is  easy.  It  is  this.  In 
Leviticus^  the  principles  of  the  distinction  are  laid  down, 
and  illustrated  by  only  a  few  instances,  either  in  regard 
to  beast  or  fowl.  In  Deuteronomy,  specific  cases  are 
given  ;  and  though,  at  ver.  6,  the  rule  is  noticed,  yet  the 
object  of  the  writer  there  is  to  set  down  special  instances 
of  the  clean  and  unclean,  rather  than  to  state  the  rule. 

The  grand  rules  as  to  quadrupeds  are,  1.  The  clean 
are  those  that  have  their  feet  completely  cloven  (above 
and  below)  ;  and,  2.  They  must  also  chew  the  cud.  The 
complete  dividing  of  the  hoof  is  very  fully  expressed  in 
the  Hebrew  ;  it  is,  q.  d.,  "  Whatever  not  only  divideth 
the  hoof,  but  cleaveth  a  cleft  in  the  hoof."  This  part  of 
the  rule  was  sufficient  to  exclude  all  such  animals  as  the 
lion  and  the  dog,  whose  foot  has  a  membrane  below  that 
unites  the  claws  together,  and  so  interferes  with  the  com- 
plete cleft ;  or  such  as  the  horse,  that  has  no  cleft  at  all. 
And  when  the  next  part  of  the  rule  demanded  that  the 
animal  should  be  one  that  chcius  the  cud,  this  secured 
that  it  should  never  be  a  carnivorous  animal ;  for  all  that 
chew  the  cud  live  on  vegetable  food.  No  carnivorous 
animal  was  clean ;  they  had  qualities  that  made  them 
unfit  to  be  acknowledged  as  proper  for  Grod's  people  to 
touch.  But  some  of  those  not  carnivorous  were  also 
unfit  to  be  taken  as  food,  possessing  some  peculiarity  that 
fitted  them  to  be  types  of  things  which  the  holy  should 
avoid. 

In  ver.  4,  ^^  nevertheless,''^  is  "r^x,  equivalent  to  ^' for 


216  EEMEMBRANCEKS   OF   THE   BROKEN   LAW. 

example.''^  There  was  a  difficulty  in  determining  the  case 
of  the  camel^  whether  or  not  it  really  divides  the  hoof 
wholly,  and  the  case  of  the  hare,  whether  it  really  chews 
the  cud ;  therefore  these  cases  are  decided  by  authority. 
And  along  with  each  of  these  a  sample  is  given  where  no 
ambiguity  existed,  viz.,  the  coney  and  the  swine. 

In  doubtful  cases,  we  should  decide  on  the  side  of  ab- 
staining from  the  thing.  See  1  Thess.  v.  22,  "  Abstain 
from  all  appearance  of  evil." 

Vers,  6,  6,  7,  8.  "And  the  coney,  because  he  cheweth  the  cud,  but 
divideth  not  the  hoof;  he  is  unclean  unto  you.  And  the  hare,*  be- 
cause he  cheweth  the  cud,  but  divideth  not  the  hoof;  he  is  unclean 
unto  you.  And  the  swine,  though  he  divide  the  hoof,  and  be  cloven- 
footed  ;  yet  he  cheweth  not  the  cud  ;  he  is  unclean  to  you.  Of  their 
flesh  shall  ye  not  eat,  and  their  carcass  shall  ye  not  touch :  they 
are  unclean  to  you." 

The  coney  (in  Hebrew,  the  Shaphan)  is  an  animal 
called  the  daman,  resembling  the  hare  in  size,  and  living 
in  holes  of  the  rock.  The  swine,  in  the  East,  if  eaten, 
produce  a  tendency  to  itchy  diseases,  to  leprosy,  and,  in 
short,  to  cutaneous  diseases  of  all  kinds. 

AVe  see  here  how  the  Lord  multiplied  in  Israel  the 
memorials  of  sin.  In  Noah's  day,  the  distinction  between 
clean  and  unclean  was  known  ;  but  only  in  its  rudiments. 
That  general  rule  is  now  branched  out  into  particulars. 

*  Hebrew,  r^rss'^st  _  It  is  stated  by  a  Jewish  writer,  that  the  Seventy 
interpreters  were  much  puzzled  by  this  word.  They  hesitated  to  render 
it  by  '*  \iiyMOi"  or  "  Aaywj,"  because  Ptolemy,  whose  father  and  uncle  were 
of  the  family  of  the  "  \ayoi,''  might  take  offence  at  finding  his  name  regis- 
tered among  the  unclean  animals.  But  neither  could  they  retam  the  He- 
brew term,  "  Arnebeth"  because  Ptolemy's  queen  was  named  "Arnebct;" 
and  she  might  think  herself  insulted.  They  therefore  resorted  to  the  ex- 
pedient of  rendering  the  word  by  the  descriptive  term,  '*  Aatrvrrovg"  q.  d., 
"  rouffh-foot." 


CHAPTER  XI.  217 

By  this  new  constitution,  sin  was  much  oftener  brought 
before  the  eyes  and  into  the  thoughts  of  the  godly  men 
of  Israel.  For,  suppose  an  Israelite  of  "  quick  discern- 
ment in  the  fear  of  the  Lord"  going  forth  to  his  labor.  As 
he  goes  forth,  he  meets  one  leading  a  camel  along.  The 
sight  of  this  animal,  marked  as  unclean  in  the  law,  stirs 
up  his  soul  to  reflect  upon  G-od's  having  his  eye  on  his 
people  to  see  if  they  avoid  sin  and  remember  his  revealed 
will ;  and  just  because  this  animal  was  one  of  those  that 
it  would  have  been  difficult  to  determine  whether  it  be- 
longed to  the  clean  or  unclean,  had  not  express  authority 
decided,  he  is  reminded  that  it  will  be  safe  for  himself  to 
know  the  Lord's  positive  decision  in  things  that  have  a 
doubtful  aspect.  He  walks  onward.  As  he  crosses  the 
field,  a  hare  starts  from  its  form,  and  speeds  past  him. 
Here  he  is  reminded  that  there  are  things  which  Grod 
has  expressly  forbidden,  and  which  he  must  avoid  with 
as  much  fear  as  this  timid  hare  hastens  its  escape  from 
him.  As  he  passes  near  some  rocky  part  of  his  farm, 
the  coney ^  or  daman^  attracts  his  eye,  and  deepens  the 
remembrance  that  God  has  made  a  difference  between 
good  and  evil ;  and  teaches  him  to  hide  from  the  ap- 
proach of  the  least  appearance  of  evil,  even  as  that  coney ^ 
at  the  sight  of  a  foe,  betakes  itself  to  its  rocks.  In  the 
more  woody  and  wild  scenes,  he  sees  the  swine  and  the 
wild  hoar  enjoying  their  retreats  in  savage  filthiness. 
There  he  again  is  reminded  of  the  law  of  his  G-od ;  and 
there  he  reads,  at  the  same  time,  the  filth  of  iniquity — 
its  impure,  loathsome  aspect — the  swine  wallowing  in 
the  mire,  and  the  wild  boar  stretching  his  carcass  at  ease, 
or  sharpening  his  tusks  for  some  effort  of  destruction.* 

*  The  peculiar  abhorrence  entertained  of  swine,  has  been  supposed  to 
have  arisen  in  part  from  the  fact,  that  the  Heathen  used  them  in  their 

10 


218     REMEMBRANCERS  OF  THE  BROKEN  LAW. 

We  have,  in  Deuteronomy,  chap,  xiv.,  an  enumeration 
of  the  principal  clean  animals.  These  would,  in  like  man- 
ner, remind  the  Israelites  of  what  was  holy.  One  went 
forth  to  his  flocks,  and  there  the  sheep ^  feeding  in  their 
pastures,  spoke  to  him  of  the  clean  and  holy  ones  whom 
the  Lord  watches  over  as  their  Shepherd.  Another,  who 
beheld  the  wild  goat,  amid  solitary  rocks  where  scarcely 
any  foot  ever  trod,  feels  himself  taught  that  the  Lord 
has  kept  up  the  difference  between  holy  and  unholy  even 
in  the  deepest  solitude  ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  reads 
the  doctrine  of  a  sustaining  providence  in  the  safety  of 
the  w41d  goat  on  its  precipices.  The  hart,  leaping  in  its 
joy,  or  hastening  to  quench  its  thirst  in  water-brooks, 
leads  his  thoughts  to  holiness.  It  is  a  clean  animal ;  it 
may  guide  his  thoughts ;  it  may  remind  him  of  the 
saint's  panting  after  God.  Again,  the  roe-buck,  or  gazelle, 
amid  the  fragrant  shrubs,  spoke  of  holy  distinctions,  and 
might  lead  up  his  soul  to  the  beauty  of  holiness  amid  the 
enchanting  beauty  of  earth's  rich  scenery.  It  may  have 
been  thus  that  it  was  first  seen  by  Solomon,  in  the  hills 
of  Bethlehem ;  and  often,  in  after  days,  it  would  tell  an 
Israelite  of  Him  who  was  to  come  as  a  "  roe  on  the 
mountains  of  spices."  They  could  not  gaze  on  the 
beautiful  antlers  of  the  fallow-deer,  nor  on  the  pygarg 
(or  lidmee),  with  its  double-sized  horns  and  double 
strength,  on  the  huffaloh  wild  might,  or  the  chamois, 
sent  out  by  Grod  to  people  the  very  cliffs  of  the  rock — 
they  could  never  gaze  on  these  merely  with  the  feelings 
of  one  admiring  a  creating  Grod ;  they  were  led  to  think 
of  them  as  connecting  them  with  a  holy  Grod,  who  dis- 

feasts  and  sacrifices.  But  this  is  not  satisfactory ;  for  the  Egyptians  held 
them  unclean.  It  has  been  from  the  peculiar  style  of  the  animal ;  just 
what  gave  occasion  to  the  proverb,  2  Peter  ii,  22. 


CHAPTER  XI.  219 

cerned  between  the  clean  and  the  unclean,  and  sought 
the  redemption  of  his  fallen  creatures.  And  thus  there 
was  a  check  in  Israel  upon  the  mere  sentimentalist  and 
the  admirer  of  nature ;  their  God  threw  in  the  idea  of 
sin  and  holiness  into  all  the  objects  they  beheld.*' 

They  were  not  to  make  use  even  of  the  dead  bodies  of 
such  animals.  Living  or  dead,  by  them  they  must  be 
reminded  of  sin,  and  refuse  to  come  near  it.  Oar  hatred 
of  sin  must  be  eternal  hatred  ;  our  forsaking  of  sin  must 
be  everlasting ;  our  farewell  to  sin  must  be  forever  and 
ever.  The  difference  between  sin  and  holiness  is  ever- 
lasting, not  temporary  ;  therefore,  our  protest  against  sin, 
and  in  favor  of  holiness,  must  be  without  interruption 
and  without  end. 

Vers,  9,  10,  11,  12,  "  These  shall  ye  eat,  of  all  that  are  in  the  waters  : 
whatsoever  hath  fins  and  scales  in  the  waters,  in  the  seas,  and  in 
the  rivers,  them  shall  ye  eat.  And  all  that  have  not  fins  nor  scales 
in  the  seas,  and  in  the  rivers,  of  all  that  move  in  the  waters,  and  of 

*  I  think  it  was  not  their  natural  qualities,  so  much  as  the  Divine  ap- 
pointme7it  of  the  animals,  that  taught  Israel,  Yet,  at  the  same  time,  we 
need  not  exclude  the  other  altogether.  In  the  old  poet,  Beaumont  (in  his 
Psyche,  ix,  106-8),  there  is  an  illustration  of  how  such  associations  as  the 
above  might  be  used,  when  he  represents  Jesus  in  the  wilderness  with  the 
wild  beasts : — 

"  When  oxen  he,  and  asses  had  descried, 

Lowing  and  braying  their  desires  of  grass, 

He  kindly  thought  of  what  did  him  betide 

When  in  their  house  he  entertained  was; 

How  Bethlehem's  stable,  with  the  hay  and  manger, 
Welcomed  the  new-born,  man-rejected  stranger. 

"  A  flock  of  sheep  went  bleating  after  them, 
Whose  sucking  sons  made  him  reflect  again 
Upon  himself,  God's  everlasting  Lamb, 
Born  in  proud  Salem's  shambles  to  be  slain. 

He  blest  them  all,  and  for  their  sustenance. 

Engaged  his  magazine  of  providence." 


220     KEMEMBRANCEES  OF  THE  BEOKEN  LAW. 

any  living  thing  which  is  in  the  waters,  they  shall  be  an  abomination 
unto  you :  they  sliall  be  even  an  abomination  unto  you ;  ye  shall 
not  eat  of  their  flesh,  but  ye  shall  have  their  carcasses  in  abomi- 
nation. Whatsoever  hath  no  tms  nor  scales  in  the  waters,  that  shall 
be  an  abomination  unto  you." 

It  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  all  fish  that  have  both 
scales  and  fins  are  both  wholesome  and  nutritious.  This 
provision,  therefore,  secured  to  the  people  the  free  use  of 
what  was  certainly  profitable,  and  kept  them  back  from 
the  uncertainty  of  choosing  among  the  others  what  might 
have  injured  them.  Again,  therefore,  they  were  taught 
that  it  is  better  far  to  lean  to  the  side  of  abstinence,  in 
doubtful  cases,  than  to  run  the  risk  of  doing  evil.  They 
were  trained  to  the  principle,  "  If  meat  make  my  brother 
to  offend,  I  will  eat  no  flesh  while  the  world  standeth." 
(1  Cor.  viii.  13.) 

Those  '•'•without  fins  and  scales''^  are  partly  creatures 
of  the  mud  and  marsh  ;  whereas  the  others  swim  through 
the  clear,  limpid  waters  of  "  seas  and  rivers."  Others 
of  them  that  are  "  without  scales,"  are  such  as  the  vora- 
cious shark.  Thus  they  were  naturally  fitted  to  exhibit 
purity. 

In  ver.  9,  we  are  to  read  "  in  the  ivaters,  i.  e.,  ivhether 
seas  or  rivers.'^''  In  ver.  10,  "  All  that  move  in  the 
waters,"  is  rather,  "  All  that  crawl  in  the  waters  ;"  and 
even  any  living  thing  there  that  has  not  the  specified 
qualities.  In  the  same  verse,  and  at  ver.  11,  "  They 
shall  be  an  abomination,"  is  more  emphatic  if  read  thus — 
"  They  are  an  abomination  to  you^  and  they  shall  be 
an  abominationP^  And  it  is  thus  strongly  stated,  be- 
cause the  people  might  be  ready  to  neglect  the  rule  in 

f--  Exactly  as  Ezekiel  xix.  14^  Hppb-  ^t\^\  i<">il  ni"ip  ,  "  This  is  a  lamen- 
tation, and  shall  be  for  a  lamentation;"  so  liere,  on  Vpli:  Dab  si'irji  Vp^l 
dsb. 


CHAPTER  XI.  221 

the  case  of  some  of  the  smaller  creatures  in  the  waters. 
Many  of  the  forbidden  creatures  are  exceedingly  small  in 
size  ;  yet,  nevertheless,  even  that  atom  is  to  be  abhorred, 
if  the  Lord  has  given  the  command.  It  is  not  the  im- 
portance of  the  thing,  but  the  majesty  of  the  lawgiver, 
that  is  to  be  the  standard  of  our  obedience.  '*  Sin  is  the 
transgression  of  the  lawP     (1  John  iii.  4.) 

There  were  tribes  that  were  to  dwell  by  the  waters. 
Thus  Simeon  and  Dan  had  a  sea-coast  from  the  river  of 
Egypt  up  to  Joppa.  Ephraim  and  the  half  tribe  of 
Manasseh  had  a  sea-coast  as  far  as  Carmel — the  glorious 
plain  of  Sharon  descending  to  the  water-side.  Zebulun 
and  Asher,  too,  had  their  creeks  and  bays  ;  while  Nap- 
thali,  as  well  as  Zebulun  and  the  other  half  tribe  of 
Manasseh,  encircled  the  lake  of  G-alilee,  so  plentiful  in 
its  supply  of  fish ;  and  the  waters  of  Merom,  no  doubt, 
swarmed  with  their  kinds.  Others  of  the  tribes  lay  near 
Jordan,  or  had  some  lesser  streams  and  lakes  at  hand. 
Hence  there  was  not  probably  one  tribe  but  had  some 
need  of  these  laws,  and  opportunity  for  exercising  faith 
by  attending  to  them."^  The  Lord  also  thus  evidenced  his 
care  over  the  spiritual  health  of  the  seamen  and  fishers 
of  Israel.  It  tried  their  faith  when  they  needed  to  cast 
away  whatever  unclean  fish  they  had  enclosed  in  their 
net. 

Some,  indeed,  might  reckon  such  minute  and  arbitrary 
rules  as  these  to  be  trifling.  But  the  principle  involved 
in  obedience  or  disobedience  was  none  other  than  the 
same  principle  which  was  tried  in  Eden  at  the  foot  of  the 
forbidden  tree.     It  was   really  this — Is  the  Lord  to  be 

*  Our  Lord's  parable,  Matt.  xiii.  4*7,  48,  of  "  every  kind  of  fish,"  would 
be  very  significant  to  Jews  who  recognized  an  allusion  to  these  Mosaic 
distinctions. 


222     REMEMBRANCEKS  OF  THE  BROKEN  LAW. 

obeyed  in  all  things  whatsoever  he  commands  ?  Is  he  a 
holy  lawgiver  ?  Are  his  creatures  bound  to  give  implicit 
assent  to  his  will  ? 

But  this  discrimination  between  holy  and  unholy  pene- 
trated farther.  It  reached  Israel's  hours  of  recreation, 
and  kept  them,  even  then,  in  mind  of  their  Holy  One. 
A  wealthy  Israelite,  who  has  his  villa  by  the  lake  of 
Gennesaret,  goes  forth  on  the  bosom  of  the  lake.  In  its 
clear  waters  he  finds  fish,  darting  on  before  the  slow- 
sailing  bark  in  the  strength  of  their  fins,  and  reflecting 
back  to  the  surface,  from  their  scales,  the  light  that  fell 
on  the  waters.  All  here  speaks  of  purity — conformity 
to  what  the  law  pronounced  clean.  But  at  another  time 
he  strolls  along  by  some  shallow,  or  is  compassing  the 
waters  of  Merom,  and  there  he  finds  the  crawling  reptiles 
of  the  mud  and  marsh — teaching  him  to  draw  back  in 
haste  from  the  touch  of  uncleanness.  In  like  manner, 
far  within  their  land,  at 'the  little  brook  flowing  through 
the  valley  of  Elah,  fringed  by  its  green  terebinths,  the 
youth  of  Judah,  in  their  sports,  were  taught  to  keep 
before  them  the  difference  between  good  and  evil,  while 
they  scrupulously  rejected  the  unclean  minnows,  and 
chose  the  clean,  amid  their  easy  angling  at  the  stream. 
"  Holiness  to  the  Lord" — obedience  to  his  revealed  will — 
thus  pervaded  Israel's  land  and  Israel's  families,  in  public 
and  in  secret,  in  business  and  in  recreation ;  their  youth 
and  their  aged  men,  in  their  fields  and  by  their  river- 
sides, must  remember  "  The  Holy  One  of  Israel !" 

And  now  we  shall  see  that  the  very  air  and  sky  had  its 
signs,  in  the  fowls  that  flew  in  the  midst  of  heaven. 

Vers.  13,  14,  15,  16.  "And  these  are  they  which  ye  shall  have  in 
abomination  among  the  fowls :  they  shall  not  be  eaten,  they  are  an 
abomination :  the  eagle,  and  the  ossifrage,  and  the  ospray,  and  the 


CHAPTER  XI.  223 

vulture,  and  the  kite  after  his  kind ;  every  raven  after  his  kind ;  and 
the  owl,  and  the  night  hawk,  and  the  cuckoo,  and  the  hawk  after 
his  kind,  and  the  little  owl." 

The  ossifrage  is  a  sea-eagle^  frequenting  cliffs  and 
promontories  ;  and  the  ospray  is  the  fish-hawk^  subsist- 
ing on  fish,  which  it  darts  down  upon  from  its  watch- 
towxr.  The  vulture  and  the  kite  are  known  in  all  these 
countries,  as  familiarly  as  the  eagle  and  the  raven. 
These  are  birds  of  the  air.  The  next  are  mere  birds  of 
earth.  But  what  is  here  called  "the  owl"  (f^5?;?),  is  the 
ostrich.  The  night-hawk  is  a  species  of  owl  known  in 
Syria,  very  ravenous,  so  that  it  will  attack  infants.  The 
cuckoo  (?in^)  is  probably  one  of  the  lesser  fowls,  the 
sea-swallow  or  sea-gull  on  their  shores.  The  haiok  is 
well  known. 

All  these  are  ravenous  in  their  nature ;  and  therefore 
there  is  an  obvious  ground  of  difference  between  these 
and  other  fowls,  without  needing  to  lay  down  any  general 
rule  such  as  is  laid  down  in  the  case  of  quadrupeds  and 
fish.  These  are  specimens;  other  fowl  of  a  similarly 
ravenous  nature  are  to  be  classed  along  with  them,  as 
the  clause,  ^^  after  his  kind ^^"^  may  intimate.  Hence,  in 
Deuteronomy,  chap,  xiv.,  "  the  glede^''  iy^^"))  is  added  to 
the  list,  unless  the  same  bird  be  meant  under  a  different 
name.  The  "  little  owV^  should  also  be  taken  in  here, 
from  ver.  17.     It  is  the  common  barn  owl. 

The  eagle.)  darting  down  from  the  hills  of  Moab  or 
Bashan,  or  from  the  heights  of  Lebanon,  would  often 
teach  the  shepherd  who  saw  his  flock  endangered  by  this 
unclean  bird.  Those  by  the  sea-shore  would  have  the 
same  lesson  taught  them  when  the  sight  or  cry  of  the 
sea-eagle  and  fish-hawk  called  to  their  mind  that  G-od 
had  made  a  difference  between  the  clean  and  unclean 


224  REMEMBRANCERS   OF  THE   BROKEN   LAW. 

even  in  the  fowls  of  the  air.  The  vulture^  in  their  streets 
or  highways,  allured  by  the  scent  of  death,  and  the  kite^ 
poised  on  its  wings  till  it  found  a  prey  upon  which  to 
dart  down,  and  the  hoarse  unpleasant  note  of  the  raven., 
would  constantly  recall  the  same  distinctions ;  while 
their  loathsome  quahties  would  serve  to  make  the  feeling 
of  uncleanness  more  and  more  detestable  to  the  men  of 
Israel.  While  in  the  wilderness,  and  ever  afterwards  on 
their  borders,  they  would  meet  with  the  ostrich.,  whose 
disagreeable  cries,  voracious  habits,  and  parental  unkind- 
ness,  would  all  contribute  to  deepen  their  aversion  to 
whatever  was  unclean.  And  not  less  so  the  small,  but 
most  ravenous  nighUhaivk  that  flies  in  at  their  open 
windows  and  seeks  the  life  of  infants  ;  and  the  sea-gull 
incessantly  watching  for  its  victims,  over  whom  it 
screams  in  savage  delight ;  and  the  hawk.,  so  furious  in 
its  attack  on  the  birds  of  the  air ;  and  the  owl  at  even- 
ing, awake  for  designs  of  destruction.  All  these,  every 
time  they  were  seen,  helped  to  deepen  Israel's  remem- 
brance of  the  difference  between  holy  and  unholy,  and 
to  give  them  intimations  of  the  hateful  qualities  of  sin. 

Vers.  17,  18,  19.  "And  the  cormorant,  and  the  great  owl,  and  the 
swan,  and  the  pelican,  and  the  gier  eagle,  and  the  stork,  the  heron 
after  her  kind,  and  tlie  lapwing,  and  the  bat." 

The  cormorant  might  be  seen  all  over  the  surface  of 
the  Mediterranean,  near  its  shores,  sailing  gracefully  on 
the  calm  waves,  or  fluttering  boldly  amid  the  foaming 
billows  in  the  storm,  seeking  its  victims.  The  "great 
owl,"  or  "  bittern''*  (qinis;:),  might  be  heard  booming  from 

*  Consult  Robinson's  Clavis,  Rosenrniiller,  the  Pictorial  Bible,  Calmet, 
and  others,  for  a  fuller  inquiry  into  the  natural  history  of  the  above.  Many 
suppose  the  ibis  is  meant  by  the  fiitDs'i 


CHAPTER  XI.  225 

the  sedges  of  the  waters  of  Merom  or  of  Jordan,  busy  all 
the  time  in  industrious  search  for  what  would  fill  its 
appetite;  and  along  with  it  the  "6■^^a?^,"  or  ''purple- 
bird"  (porphyrio  hyacinthine,  n^^sn ),  seeking  its  supply 
of  fishes  by  the  side  of  lakes  and  rivers.  By  the  shore  of 
the  sea  of  Galilee,  the  pelican  fishes  for  its  prey,  and 
stored  what  it  found  in  the  bag  wherewith  it  is  provided. 
The  gier-eagle  (p'rn)  is  very  tender  of  its  young,*  ac- 
cording to  its  Hebrew  name,  yet  unsparingly  in  their 
behalf  seizes  fish  or  winged  fowl.  It  manifests  evil  in 
combination  with  good,  and  being  pronounced  unclean^ 
led  Israel  to  entertain  abhorrence  of  any  mixture  of  good 
and  evil.  The  same  lesson  might  be  learnt  from  the  stork. 
It  was  a  bird  familiarly  known,  nestling  in  the  roofs  of 
their  houses,  possessed  of  strong  social  and  parental  affec- 
tions, yet  feeding  on  lizards,  frogs,  serpents,  and  other 
living  things.  Last  of  all,  the  heron  (nB35<),  angry  and 
irritable,  would  often  startle  the  man  of  God  in  some 
solitary  spot,  where  it  stood  watching  for  its  prey ;  the 
hoopoe^  also,  or  lapwing,  beautiful  in  feathers,  yet  filthy 
in  habits,  and  noisy  in  its  cry ;  and  the  bat  (into  whose 
retreats  the  shining  idols  of  the  heathen  shall  yet  be  cast, 
no  more  to  catch  the  eye  by  their  gaudy  show,  Isa.  ii.  20), 
coming  forth  at  evening-tide,  when  the  air  was  still, 
hunting  in  the  dusk  for  its  food,  and  often  flapping  its 
wings  most  unexpectedly  on  the  passer-by,  and  unpleas- 
antly disturbing  his  quiet  thoughts.  All  these,  not  only 
kept  up  to  remembrance  that  there  was  a  difference  be- 
tween clean  and  unclean — sin  and  holiness — good  and 
evil — but  by  their  individual  qualities,  impressed  dislike 

*  Hence  some  think  the  swan  may  be  meant,  which  will  attack  even 
man  in  defence  of  its  young. 

10*^ 


226    KEMEMBKANCERS  OF  THE  BROKEN  LAW. 

for  the  unclean,  and  taught  Israel  to  associate  most  un» 
pleasant  ideas  with  whatever  was  forbidden. 

Vers.  20,  21,  22,  23.  "  All  fowls  that  creep,  going  upon  all  four,  shall 
be  an  abomination  unto  you.  Yet  these  may  ye  eat  of  every  flying 
creeping  thing  that  goeth  upon  all  four,  which  have  legs  above  their 
feet,  to  leap  withal  upon  the  earth ;  even  these  of  them  ye  may  eat ; 
the  locust  after  his  kind,  and  the  bald  locust  after  his  kind,  and  the 
beetle  after  his  kind,  and  the  grasshopper  after  his  kind.  But  all 
other  flying  creeping  things,  which  have  four  feet,  shall  be  an  abomi- 
nation unto  you." 

Some  writers  notice  four  species  of  locusts  that  are 
supposed  to  be  meant  here.  There  is  the  locust  (ria-155), 
properly  so  called,  the  general  representative  of  the  class. 
It  has  neither  tail  nor  protuberance.  Then  there  is  the 
locust  (Q^^^)  called  here  bald-locust,  which  has  a  pro- 
tuberance ;  then  another  (the  ^a^^n),  here  called  beetle, 
that  has  both  the  protuberance  and  a  tail ;  and  a  third, 
called  here  grasshopper  (^5^),  that  has  a  tail  but  no  pro- 
tuberance.^ 

All  insects  are  unclean  except  these  four  classes  ;  for  it 
is  insects  that  are  here  meant  by  "  the  creatures  that  both 
fly  (r|is>n)  and  creep,"  using  feet  in  the  manner  of  quad- 
rupeds. All  reptiles,  v^orms,  and  insects,  e.  g.,  flies,  and 
bees,  are  thus  pronounced  unclean — except  only  the  four 
classes  that  have  springing  legs,  in  addition  to  the  legs 
used  in  creeping. 

The  sight  of  insects,  without  number,  in  their  groves, 
on  the  leaves  of  their  fig-trees,  or  the  vine-leaves  that 
shaded  them, — the  innumerable  hosts  that  thickened  the 
air  at  sunset,  or  that  played  on  the  waters,  and  from 
time  to  time  alighted  on  the  head  of  the  solemn  Jew  who 

*  Thus  Robinson  in  his  Clavis,  from  Ludolph.     Some  say  the  locust,  the 
domestic  cricket,  the  mole-cricket,  and  the  green  grasshopper. 


CHAPTER  XI.  227 

marked  the  sight — could  not  fail  to  remind  the  soul  that 
it  was  encompassed  with  unholy  things.     I  remember 
(while  in  Palestine  in  1839)  the  vast  number  of  such 
insects,  some  of  them  very  beautiful  and  rare,  which  we 
saw  one  afternoon  by  the  lake  of  Galilee,  near  Magdala ; 
and,  also,  on  a  previous  day  at  the  pools  of  Solomon,  near 
Bethlehem.     They  skimmed   along  the  waters,  or  flew 
gaily  through  the  air,  or  kept  their  seat  upon  a  sappy 
leaf — and  the  eye  could  not  but  be  attracted  by  them. 
Now,  an  Israelite  would  feel  in  these  insects  a  memorial 
of  sin,  however  fair  the  external   form  appeared.     No 
retirement  into  quiet  seats  and  bowers  could  give  freedom 
from  the  presence  of  what  was  unclean.     The  dragon- 
fly that  wafted  itself  past  their  eye,  and  the  many  mag- 
nificent insects,  though  fed  amid  the  fragrance  of  Leb- 
anon, and  the  excellency  of  Carmel  and   Sharon,  were 
all  made  to  speak  of  Grod  having  set  a  mark  on  this  earth 
as  no  longer  a  Paradise.     These  creatures  on  the  wing 
were  like  messengers  sent  to  admonish  the  saints  of  Grod 
that  the  sweetest  spots  of  earth  were  polluted,  and,  there- 
fore, they  must  watch  and  keep  their  garments.     The 
only  clean  insects  were  the  locusts — the  insects  so  often 
used  by  Grod  to  punish  a  guilty  land  and   an  unclean 
people. 

THE  CARCASSES  OF  UNCLEAN  CREATURES. 

Vers.  24,  25,  26,  27,  28.  "  And  for  these  ye  shall  be  unclean  :  whoso- 
ever toucheth  the  carcass  of  them  shall  be  unclean  until  the  even. 
And  whosoever  beareth  aught  of  the  carcass  of  them  shall  wash  his 
clothes,  and  be  unclean  until  the  even.  The  carcasses  of  every 
beast  which  divideth  the  hoof,  and  is  not  clovenfooted,  nor  cheweth 
the  cud,  are  unclean  unto  you :  every  one  that  toucheth  them  shall 
be  unclean.  And  whatsoever  goeth  upon  his  paws,  among  all  man- 
ner of  beasts  that  go  on  all  four,  those  are  unclean  unto  you :  whoso 


228     REMEMBRANCERS  OF  THE  BROKEN  LAW. 

toucheth  their  carcass  shall  be  unclean  until  the  even.  And  he  that 
beareth  the  carcass  of  them  shall  wash  his  clothes,  and  be  unclean 
until  the  even :  they  are  unclean  unto  you." 

In  ver.  24,  "  And  for  these''^  is  to  be  connected  with 
ver.  26.  "  For  these,  viz.,  the  carcasses  of  every  beast 
which  divideth  the  hoof,  Sfc.,^^ — not  the  carcasses  of  in- 
sects, which  would  have  been  quite  overwhelming  in 
number  and  in  every  spot.  The  four-footed  creatures 
that  ''  go  upon  their  paws"  are  such  as  the  jerboa  (the 
mouse  of  Isa.  Ixvi.  17),  which  uses  its  forepaws  for  hold- 
ing its  food,  and  leaps  with  its  hind  ones. 

The  carcass  defiles ;  thus  keeping  up  in  Israel  awful 
impressions  of  death.  It  defiles  because  it  speaks  of  the 
fall — sin — wrath — curse.  They  must  remember  that 
even  Palestine  is  not  Eden.  "  Thou  shalt  die''^  is  written 
over  all  its  dwellings ;  and  every  dead  carcass  is  a  voice 
crying  in  their  ears,  like  Abel's  blood  in  the  ears  of  God, 
"  Thou  shalt  die  /" 

In  ver.  25  it  is  said,  "  Whosoever  beareth  aught  of  the 
carcass  of  them.''''  To  carry  a  single  portion  of  the  car- 
cass in  their  hands  seemed  to  intimate  the  wish  or  inten- 
tion to  use  it  for  some  purpose.  Hence  they  are  warned 
that  to  be  found  "  bearing  the  carcass"  (ver.  28),  or 
''any  part  of  the  carcass"  (ver.  25),  such  as  the  skin,  or 
bones,  would  pollute  them ;  for  it  connected  them  with 
the  sign  of  the  first  threatening,  "  Thou  shalt  dieP 

The  defiled  remained  unclean  "  until  the  even''''  (ver. 
25),  even  after  washing  their  clothes.  The  washing  of 
the  clothes  plainly  represents  the  cleansing  in  the  blood 
of  Jesus.  The  pollution  is  washed  away  by  Christ's 
death,  applied  to  them  by  his  Spirit.  But  why,  then, 
remain  unclean  ^^  until  even  7^''  Why  not  enter  the 
dwelling  of  a  man  of  Israel  till  the  day  is  done  ?     Why 


CHAPTER  XI.  229 

never  cross  the  threshold  of  a  clean  and  undefiled  Israelite 
until  the  sun  set  ?  I  suppose  it  was  in  order  to  represent 
the  truth,  that,  fallen  man,  though  justified  wholly  and 
completely  from  the  sins  lying  to  his  charge,  and  though 
receiving  the  Holy  Spirit  to  sanctify  his  polluted  nature, 
is,  nevertheless,  not  entirely  free  from  the  effects  of  his 
fall  till  his  night  has  come.  At  death,  he  lays  down  his 
polluted  raiment  and  is  reckoned  quite  clean.  Bat  in 
truth  it  is  not  till  next  morning  that  his  complete  deliver- 
ance is  apparent  to  all.  It  is  at  the  resurrection-morning 
— after  both  evening  and  night  is  past — that  it  is  unde- 
niably evident  that  all  effects  of  yesterday's  defilement 
are  gone.  He  can  now  enter  the  dwelling  of  the  right- 
eous ;  he  can  go  up  to  the  sanctuary ;  he  can  stand  in 
the  holy  hill. 

Thus,  the  man,  defiled  by  the  touch  of  death,  repre- 
sents a  sinner's  state.  His  washing  represents  the  sin- 
ner's using  the  appointed  cleansing  given  him  in  the  Lord 
Jesus.  His  waiting,  nevertheless,  till  evening,  ere  the 
effects  of  that  connection  with  death  and  sin  be  annulled 
altogether,  represents  the  justified, — represents  you,  be- 
liever,— fully  sensible  of  your  cleansed  state,  yet  aware 
that  your  deliverance  from  all  the  consequences,  the 
misery,  and  the  shame,  and  the  debasing  effect  of  the 
fall,  will  not  be  either  fully  enjoyed  or  really  seen  by 
others  till  this  present  day  is  past,  and  ''  the  morning 
star"  of  the  day  of  God  has  risen.  Then  you  will  go 
forth  with  joy — though  now  you  sit  in  conscious  imper- 
fection, often  saddened  and  often  tempted,  often  groaning 
and  often  oppressed.  To  you  Paul  says,  "  Now  is  our 
salvation  nearer  than  when  we  believed," — for  not  only 
is  the  day  of  our  uncleanness  gone,  but  "  the  night"  that 


230  REMEMBEANCERS   OF  THE   BROKEN  LAW. 

intervenes  between  us   and  the   coming   morn   ''  is   far 
spent;  the  day  is  at  hand."     (Rom.  xiii.  12.) 

Vers.  29,  30,  31.  "These  also  shall  be  unclean  unto  you  among  the 
creeping  things  that  creep  upon  the  earth  :  the  weasel,  and  the 
mouse,  and  the  tortoise  after  his  kind,  and  the  ferret,  and  the 
chameleon,  and  the  lizard,  and  the  snail,  and  the  mole.  These  are 
unclean  to  you  among  all  that  creep  :  -whosoever  doth  touch  them, 
when  they  be  dead,  shall  be  unclean  until  the  even." 

A  man  of  Israel,  within  the  limits  of  his  own  field  and 
farm,  is  kept  in  view  of  memorials  of  sin.  The  mole{^ 
working  up  the  earth  in  search  of  its  prey  below,  attracts 
his  eye  in  the  heaving  ground — or  the  mouse  (jerboa)  of 
the  same  race  that  afterward  devoured  the  Philistine's 
corn-fields — is  seen  burrowing  in  the  sandy  soil  as  he 
approaches.  Or  near  some  stream,!  the  slow-moving 
tortoise  drops  down  into  the  water  at  the  sound  of  man's 
footsteps;  and  then  the  doleful  cry  of  the  (i^i^^jsj)  gecko 
lizard  (not  ferret)^  that  by  its  very  touch  injures  the 
victuals  over  which  it  passes  its  cold  body,  and  the  strong 
lizardX  forcing  its  way  into  the  sand  to  escape  its 
pursuer  ;  and  the  (i^i<'^^)  poisonous,  filthy  lizard  that 
Wallows  in  dirt  and  rubbish, — all  these  keep  before  him 
the  great  truth,  that  he  is  in  a  fallen  world,  where  not 
only  the  birds  of  the  sky  above,  and  the  animals  that 
roam  at  liberty  around,  and  the  insects  of  the  air,  but 
even  the  reptiles  which  his  foot  might  crush,  are  polluted. 
Look  up,  or  look  around,  or  look  down,  memorials  of 
sin  abound. 

Then,  the  snail  and  the  chameleon  (nigi^an  is  not  the 

• 

*  "  WeaseV  is  not  the  true  rendering  of  ^bh 

\  I  remember  multitudes  of  them  at  a  stream  near  the  lake  of  Galilee, 
and  in  similar  situations. 
X  nis  is  iioti  chameleon. 


i 


CHAPTER  XI.  231 

mole*)  on  the  trees  or  shrubs ;  the  one  filthily  spread- 
ing its  slime  over  every  leaf,  the  other  hanging  from 
a  twig,  greedily  intent  on  drawling  into  its  mouth  the 
gnats  and  almost  invisible  insects  that  ply  "  in  the  web 
of  the  sunbeams,"  and  changing  color  according  to  the 
green  or  yellow  hue  of  the  leaf; — these  are  memorials 
of  uncleanness  to  the  Israelite,  held  up  before  him  by  the 
side  of  his  house,  or  among  the  tender  branches  which  he 
is  examining.  At  every  point  he  is  startled  with  some 
object  that  speaks  of  the  difference  between  the  clean  and 
the  unclean — the  holiness  of  Grod,  and  the  sin  of  man. 

THINGS  ABOUT  THEIR  HOUSES  BECOMING  UNCLEAN. 

Vers.  32,  33,  34,  35.  "  And  upon  whatsoever  any  of  them,  when  they 
are  dead,  doth  fall,  it  shall  be  unclean ;  whether  it  be  any  ves- 
sel of  wood,  or  raiment,  or  skin,  or  sack,  whatsoever  vessel  it  be, 
wherein  any  work  is  done,  it  must  be  put  into  water,  and  it  shall 
be  imclean  unto  the  even :  so  it  shall  be  cleansed.  And  every 
earthen  vessel,  wherein  to  any  of  them  falleth,  whatsoever  is  in  it 
shall  be  unclean  ;  and  ye  shall  break  it.  Of  all  meat  which  may 
be  eaten,  that  on  which  such  water  cometh  shall  be  unclean  :  and 
all  drink  that  may  be  drunk  in  every  such  vessel  shall  be  unclean. 
And  everytliing  whereupon  any  part  of  their  carcass  falleth  shall 
be  unclean  ;  whether  it  be  oven,  or  ranges  for  pots,  they  shall  be 
broken  down  :  for  they  are  unclean,  and  shall  be  unclean  unto  you." 

These  are  the  plain,  undoubted  cases  of  defilement. 
The  domestic  in  the  family,  engaged  in  the  duties  of  his 
humble  lot,  has  sign-posts  set  up  by  G-od  to  warn  him  of 
sin.  The  wooden  vessels  on  his  shelves,  the  skin  bottles 
that  were  filled  with  water,  or  ready  to  be  used,    the 

*  From  D!l33,to  breathe.     Bochart  has  been  followed   by  most  writers 

T  T 

in  the  opinion  that  this  name  describes  the  chameleon,  which  has  lungs 
of  such  vast  dimensions,  that  when  filled,  the  body  is  made  to  appear 
transparent.  It  alters  the  color  of  the  skin  by  thus  exposing  more  or  less 
of  the  blood  to  the  air. 


282  EEMEMBRANCEES   OF   THE   BROKEN"  LAW. 

wardrobe  of  the  family,   all   must  be  watchfully    kept 
from  pollution. 

Their  finest  cakes,  and  the  richest  wines,  must  be  set 
aside  and  cast  away,  if  the  touch  of  the  unclean  creature 
came  upon  them.  The  ovens  for  baking  their  food,  and 
the- ranges  where  their  pots  for  boiling  stood,  must  be 
disused  if  a  spot  of  pollution  fell  upon  them. 

In  this  manner  cleanliness  was  taught;  but  much 
more  holiness.  Every  vessel  must  have  on  it,  "  Holi- 
ness to  the  Lord  ;"  and  the  garment  spotted  by  the  flesh 
must  be  hated. 

Our  private  walk  must  be  under  the  Lord's  eye.  It 
is  not  abroad  only,  in  public,  but  it  is  alone,  and  before 
our  household,  that  the  Lord's  will  must  be  done.  In 
the  minute  and  apparently  trifling  things  of  domestic 
arrangement  we  must  regulate  our  actions  by  a  regard 
to  the  all-present,  holy  Jehovah.  In  putting  on  our 
raiment,  instead  of  allowing  pride  to  arise,  we  must  ask, 
Is  there  not  pollution  even  here ;  for  the  air  of  earth  is 
tainted  ?  In  all  things  we  must  have  our  hearts  watch- 
ful, and  our  eye  awake,  to  discern  between  the  holy  and 
the  unholy.  We  must  sing  Psalm  ci.  in  every  room  of 
our  house,  and  in  every  movement  of  our  hands. 

Earthen  vessels  were  to  be  broken  ;  others  were  to  be 
steeped  in  water  for  cleansing.  The  Lord's  two  ways  of 
cleansing  away  the  pollution  of  this  earth  may  be  illus- 
ti'ated  here.  The  water  of  the  Deluge  steeped  earth  till 
it  was  purified  for  a  time ;  but  the  next  mode  of  cleans- 
ing is,  "  Seeing  all  these  things  shall  be  dissolved.''''  Or 
rather,  it  may  refer  to  the  Lord's  two  ways  of  treating 
the  polluted.  He  either  cleanses  the  polluted  sinner  by 
making  him  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Grhost,  or  he  at 
length  destroys  him.     Now,  the  vessel  of  wood  or  skin 


CHAPTER  XI.  233 

at  once  parted  with  the  stain  and  scent  of  the  unclean 
thing  when  washed: — so  does  the  justified  soul  when 
washed  in  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  sanctified  by  the 
washing  of  regeneration.  On  the  other  hand,  the  porous 
earthen  vessel  imbibes  the  flavor  and  will  not  part  with 
it,  even  though  it  be  the  flavor  of  putrefaction ; — so  the 
unconverted  soul  retains  his  sin  and  his  love  to  it,  imbibes 
it  and  does  not  let  it  go;  "his  taste  remaineth  in  him 
and  his  scent  is  not  changed"  (Jer.  xlviii.  11) ;  he  must 
be  broken  in  pieces  and  cast  away.  As  a  potter's  vessel, 
he  shall  be  dashed  in  pieces,  and  with  the  rod  of  iron 
broken  forever.     (Psalm  ii.  9.) 

Ver,  36.  "  Nevertheless,  a  fountain  or  pit,  wherein  there  is  plenty  of 
water,  shall  be  clean :  but  that  which  toucheth  their  carcass  shall 
be  unclean." 

Rather  read,  ''  a  fountain  or  pit :  in  short,  any 
collection  of  water,''''  e.  g*.,  a  pond  or  lake.  An  unclean 
thing  falling  into  these  did  not  pollute  the  waters ;  it 
was  only  anything,  or  person,  "  that  touched  them^''  e.  g"., 
a  man  in  drawing  them  out  of  the  pit,  that  became  un- 
clean. Perhaps  there  was  a  double  reason  for  this  :  1. 
The  wells  and  water  were  themselves  the  means  of 
washing'  and  cleansing.  2.  This  water  was  typical 
of  him  in  whom  all  may  find  cleansing,  without  con- 
veying to  him  any  of  their  defilements.  Any  other  would 
be  polluted  by  the  touch  ;  the  man  who  drew  out  the 
carcass  would  be  defiled — but  not  so  the  water.  Christ 
can  let  the  leper  come  near,  and  can  touch  him  safely, 
communicating  health,  while  the  leprous  man  cannot 
convey  defilement  to  his  deliverer.  Christ  can  receive 
sinners  and  eat  with  them,  sending  forth  health  and  sal- 
vation into  their  polluted  souls.     John  can  lean  his  body 


234  REMEMBRANCERS  OF  THE  BROKEN"   LAW. 

of  sin  and  of  death  upon  the  bosom  of  the  Saviour.  A 
similar  type  we  have  in  Naaman,  whose  leprosy  is  left 
in  Jordan,  and  yet  Jordan  flows  on  as  pure  as  before. 

Vers.  37,  38.  "  And  if  any  part  of  their  carcass  fall  upon  any  sowing 
seed  which  is  to  be  sown,  it  shall  be  clean.  But  if  any  water  be 
put  upon  the  seed,  and  any  part  of  their  carcass  fall  thereon,  it  shall 
be  unclean  unto  you." 

The  husk,  or  skin  of  the  seed,  was  between  it  and  the 
polluting  object.  Bat  if  the  seed  was  not  in  a  sowing 
state,  i.  e.,  if  it  was  bruised  or  ground,  then  pollution 
entered.  So,  if  water  fell  on  it,  then  the  water's  in- 
sinuating qualities,  working  its  way  through  the  pores, 
would  rot  the  heart.  Israel  was  taught  the  danger  of 
coming  in  contact  with  sin.  You  must  be  shielded  from 
its  touch  :  the  husk  taught  this.  You  must  shrink  back 
from  all  appearance  of  it :  the  soaking  water  taught  this. 

Vers.  39,  40.  "  And  if  any  beast,  of  which  ye  may  eat,  die :  he  that 
toucheth  the  carcass  thereof  shall  be  unclean  until  the  even.  And 
he  that  eateth  of  the  carcass  of  it  shall  wash  his  clothes,  and  be  un- 
clean until  the  even :  he  also  that  beareth  tlie  carcass  of  it  shall 
wash  his.  clothes,  and  be  unclean  until  the  even." 

Even  clean  beasts  were  polluting  if  they  died  by  dis- 
ease, or  in  course  of  nature.  The  remembrance  of  sin 
entering  into  the  world,  and  its  fatal  consequences,  was 
thus  kept  up.  In  such  cases  as  these,  the  tendency  of 
all  things  to  corruption  was  seen.  ^ 

CREEPING    THINGS. 

Vers.  41,  42,  43.  "  And  every  creeping  thing  that  creepeth  upon  the 
earth  shall  be  an  abomination :  it  shall  not  be  eaten.  Whatsoever 
goeth  upon  the  belly,  and  whatsoever  goeth  upon  all  four,  or  what- 
soever hath  more  feet  among  all  creeping  things  that  creep  upon 
the  earth,  them  ye  shall  not  eat ;  for  they  are  an  abomination.    Ye 


CHAPTER  XI.  235 

Bhall  not  make  yourselves  abominable  with  any  creeping  thing  that 
creepeth,  neither  shall  ye  make  yourselves  unclean  with  them,  that 
ye  should  be  defiled  thereby." 

The  Lord  now  looked  down  to  the  meanest  things  that 
moved  on  the  earth,  and  pointed  Israel  to  them.  This 
notice  of  them  was  incidentally  a  good  security  against 
cruelty  to  insects ;  it  would  prevent  even  their  children 
playing  with  them  to  their  hurt.  But  we  thus  are  taught 
how  the  Lord,  whose  eye  scans  the  form  of  the  arch- 
angel, and  rests  on  the  beauties  of  holiness  throughout 
his  holy  heavens,  "  humbleth  himself  to  behold  the  things 
that  are  on  earth." 

It  is  those  tribes  that  both  creep  and  walk^  not  as  ver. 
21,  where  mention  is  made  of  those  that  fly  and  leap.  It 
is  such  tribes  as  the  caterpillar,  the  worm,  and  the 
centipede,  whose  feet  are  so  short  as  to  be  almost  unseen, 
as  if  it  went  on  its  belly.  But  probably  the  serpent-race 
is  chiefly  aimed  at ;  and  the  others  that  go  on  their  belly 
are  included  because  of  their  connection  with  the  serpent 
in  their  form,  or  mode  of  life.  These  all  are  unclean ; 
they  must  remind  man  of  the  fall.  They  must  recall  to 
him  Satan,  the  great  deceiver  (Gren.  iii.  14,  15),  slily,  un- 
heard, and  unseen,  winding  his  way  into  the  heart  of 
Eden,  and  then  into  the  soul  of  Eve  and  Adam.  The 
creeping  things  were  natural  types  of  the  Fall,  degrading 
men  to  the  very  dust,  as  if  bowed  on  their  bellies  by  the 
weight  of  the  curse.  And  thus,  by  contrast,  the  promise 
of  the  seed  of  the  woman  would  daily  be  brought  into 
the  minds  of  Israel.  This  simple  suggestion  would  be 
sufficient  to  cause  a  godly  Jew  to  remember  the  First 
Promise  every  time  a  creeping  thing  crossed  his  path.  A 
thought  of  a  coming  deliverer  would  thus  dart  into  his 
soul,  as  often  as  a  serpent  darted  along.     His  eye  was 


236     REMEMBRANCERS  OF  THE  BROKEN  LAW. 

thus  turned  to  Messiah  at  all  times  of  the  day,  and  his 
soul  drawn  forth  to  expect  the  time  when  He  should 
come  to  set  free  creation  itself  from  the  bondage  of  cor- 
ruption. The  lowest  stage  of  degradation  was  the  very 
means  of  lifting  his  heart  to  the  hope  of  the  highest 
blessing — •'  that  blessed  hope  !'^ 

How  beautiful  is  this  arrangement  by  which  the  Lord 
has  thus  brought  us  to  the  feet  of  his  Son,  at  the  close  of 
so  singular  an  enumeration  of  the  clean  and  unclean ! 
We  are  left  to  rejoice  in  Him  who  sets  us  free  from  the 
uncleanness,  and  who  will  also  set  creation  itself  free 
from  the  same.  "  For  the  creation  was  made  subject  to 
vanity,  not  willingly,  but  by  reason  of  him  who  subjected 
the  same,  in  hope ;  because  the  creation  itself  also  shall 
be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the 
glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  Grod."  (Rom.  viii.  20. 
21.) 

WHAT  SHOULD  CONSTRAIN  TO  OBEDIENCE. 

Vers.  44,  45,  46,  47.  "  For  I.  am  the  Lord  your  God :  ye  shall  there- 
fore sanctify  yourselves,  and  ye  shall  be  holy;  for  I  am  holy: 
neither  shall  ye  defile  yourselves  with  any  manner  of  creeping 
thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth.  For  I  am  the  Lord  that  bring- 
eth  you  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  to  be  your  God ;  ye  shall 
therefore  be  holy,  for  I  am  holy.  This  is  the  law  of  the  beasts,  and 
of  the  fowl,  and  of  every  living  creature  that  moveth  in  the  waters, 
and  of  every  creature  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth :  to  make  a 
difference  between  the  unclean  and  the  clean,  and  between  the 
beast  that  may  be  eaten  and  the  beast  that  may  not  be  eaten." 

Nothing,  however  minute,  is  to  be  left  undone,  if  the 
Lord  has  commanded  it ;  and  hence  ver.  44  joins  ^^  I  am 
holT/,^^  with  "not  defiling  themselves  with  creeping 
things:'  The  infiniteness  of  his  holy  authority  is  seen  in 
its  extending  from  the  height  of  his  throne  to  this  low 


CHAPTER  XI.  237 

descent.  Holiness  in  what  we  call  small  matters^  is  the 
surest  test  of  real  holiness  ;  for  it  shows  a  proper  under- 
standing of  the  wide  extent  and  full  reach  of  Jehovah's 
holy  nature  and  law. 

It  is  beautiful,  also,  to  notice  that  the  Lord  now  follows 
up  all  his  statutes  by  the  grand  motive,  viz.,  redemption. 
In  ver.  44,  "  I  am  your  G-od,"  reconciled  to  you,  and  you 
to  me ;  therefore^  be  holy.  In  ver.  45,  "  I  am  he  that 
is  bringing  you  up  from  Egypt^  your  deliverer  and  your 
guide — your  Saviour ;  therefore^  be  holy."  His  love  to 
them  is  the  motive  that  is  to  constrain  them.  And  if 
they  ask,  What  is  holiness  ?  it  is  keeping  even  these 
laws,  vers.  46,  47. 

And  thus,  in  the  end,  it  is  seen  that  holiness  is  the 
Lord's  design  and  aim.  He  longs  to  have  his  creatures 
freed  from  all  uncleanness,  and  made  holy.  He  seeks  to 
hear  on  earth  no  longer  the  cry  of  wickedness  and  woe, 
but  the  blissful  cry  that  seraph  utters  to  seraph,  "Holy, 
holy,  holy !" 


(Original  $\n. 

WHAT   HAS   BEEN   TRANSMITTED   TO   US. 


"  BY  ONE  man's  disobedience,  MANY  WERE  MADE  SINNERS." RoiH.  V.  19. 

"  IN  SIN  DID  MY  MOTHER  CONCEIVE  ME." Ps.  li.  5.     . 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Vers.  1,  2.  "And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying.  Speak  unto  the 
children  of  Israel,  saying,  If  a  woman  have  conceived  seed,  and 
born  a  man  child :  then  she  shall  be  unclean  seven  days ;  according 
to  the  days  of  the  separation  for  her  inlirmity  shall  she  be  unclean." 

It  was  not  needful  to  give  Aaron,  whose  "  lips  were  to 
keep  knowledge,"  the  regulation  of  this  statute  ;  for  it  is 
a  thing  of  which  none  can  pretend  ignorance. 

The  woman  is  made  unclean  by  the  birth  of  a  child. 
Why  is  this  ?  Because  the  child  is  born  a  sinner,  an  heir 
of  hell  I  She  that  bare  him  is  therefore  held  as  unclean. 
So  decided  is  the  Lord's  view  of  the  sin  of  a  new-born 
babe. 

She  continues  unclean  for  seven  days,  until  the  time 
come  when  her  son  is  to  be  received  into  the  visible 
Church  by  circumcision.  This  attests  that  the  babe  is 
born  out  of  covenant,  and  so  refers  us  back  to  Adam,  out- 
side of  Eden.    "  Thy  first  father  hath  sinned"  (Isa.  xliii. 


CHAPTER  XII.  239 

27)  is  the  fact  brought  to  their  mind.     Adam^s  imputed 
guilt  rests  on  his  posterity. 

Vers.  3,  4.  "  And  in  the  eighth  day  the  flesh  of  his  foreskin  shall  be  cir- 
cumcised. And  she  shall  then  continue  in  the  blood  of  her  purify- 
ing three  and  thirty  days ;  she  shall  touch  no  hallowed  thing,  nor 
come  into  the  sanctuary,  until  the  days  of  her  purifying  be  fulfilled." 

Iniquity  is  imputed  to  the  mother  for  having  brought 
a  sinner  into  the  world.  After  he  is  circumcised,  i.  e., 
received  into  covenant  with  Abraham's  God,  her  imputed 
sin  is  reckoned  as  in  some  measure  removed.  But  still, 
though  she  shares  to  some  extent  in  the  benefits  which 
her  child  receives  from  the  covenant  of  circumcision,  she 
is  to  touch  nothing  hallowed,  nor  come  to  hallowed 
ground  for  thirty-three  days.  Forty  days  is  a  very  com- 
mon portion  of  time  in  all  Scripture,  e.  g.,  forty  days  the 
flood  advanced  ;  Moses  was  on  the  hill  forty  days  ;  Elijah 
at  Horeb ;  Christ  tempted.  Now,  the  seven  and  the 
thirty-three  are  just  forty  days.*" 

The  child,  in  after  days,  must  have  learned  the  lesson 
of  his  depravity  very  deeply,  when  his  mother  told  him 
of  her  forty  days'  defilement. 

Ver.  5.  "  But  if  she  bare  a  maid  child,  then  she  shall  be  unclean  two 
weeks,  as  in  her  separation  :  and  she  shall  continue  in  the  blood  of 
her  purifying  threescore  and  six  days." 

The  female  child  keeps  the  mother  unclean  double  the 
time.     Perhaps,  one  reason  of  this  was,  that  the  male 

*  Here  let  i;s  indulge  a  conjecture:  it  is  no  more  than  a  conjecture. 
May  it  have  been  the  case  that  Adam  and  Eve  remained  only  forty  days 
unf alien  ?  This  forty  days  would  thus  be  a  reminiscence  of  that  only  holy 
time  on  earth.  The  second  Adam  was  forty  days  on  earth  after  his  resur- 
rection, recalling  to  mind  earth's  time  of  Paradise.  If  this  be  so,  every 
"  Fort^'  that  struck  upon  the  ear  would  be  a  knell  of  Paradise  lost ! 


240  ORIGINAL  SIN. 

child  had  had  the  advantage  of  the  covenant  of  circum- 
cision, and  brought  thereby  blessing  to  his  mother.  An- 
other reason,  however,  was,  "  because  the  ivoman  was  in 
the  transgression'"  (1  Tim.  ii.  14),  and  led  Adam  into  it. 
It  kept  up  the  remembrance  of  the  Fall,  and  of  the  first 
sin. 

It  may  have  been  in  reference  to  such  restrictions  on 
the  female  children  that  Paul  said,  "  There  is  neither  Jew 
nor  Grreek,  there  is  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is  neither 
male  nor  female ;  for  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus." 
(aal.  iii.  28.) 

Vers.  6,  7,  8.  "  And  when  the  days  of  her  purifying  are  fulfilled,  for  a 
son,  or  for  a  daughter,  she  shall  bring  a  lamb  of  the  first  year  for  a 
burnt-offering,  and  a  young  pigeon,  or  a  turtle-dove,  for  a  sin  offer- 
ing, unto  tlie  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  unto  the 
priest :  who  shall  offer  it  before  the  Lord,  and  make  an  atonement 
for  her  ;  and  she  shall  be  cleansed  from  the  issue  of  her  blood.  This 
is  the  law  for  her  that  hath  born  a  male  or  a  female.  And  if  she 
be  not  able  to  bring  a  lamb,  then  she  shall  bring  two  turtles,  or  two 
young  pigeons;  the  one  for  the  burnt-offering,  and  the  other  for  a 
sin-offering :  and  the  priest  shall  make  an  atonement  for  her,  and 
she  shall  be  clean." 

Her  sin  is  to  be  brought  to  the  altar  at  the  end  of  the 
appointed  time.  And  she  offers,  through  the  priest,  first 
of  all,  a  burnt-offering.  The  burnt-offering  was,  as  we 
have  often  noticed,  the  basis  of  all  thje  other  sacrifices ; 
it  was  a  broad  recognition  of  all  the  principles  of  a  sin- 
ner's acceptance.  After  this  the  specialities  of  her  case 
are  presented  on  the  altar  in  the  sin-offering,  which  sin- 
offering  is  to  be  a  pigeon,  or  a  turtle-dove.  This  was  an 
emblem  of  the  child's  tender  years  and  apparent  inno- 
cence, though  guilt  lay  hid  within.  Oh !  how  impres- 
sively the  mother  was  taught  the  need  of  her  infant  being 
washed  in  redeeming  blood  ! 


CHAPTER  XII.  241 

All  mothers  in  Israel  were  to  act  thus.  And  that  none 
might  plead  the  excuse  of  poverty,  there  is  permission  to 
take  a  pigeon  or  turtle-dove  for  the  burnt-offering.  The 
tender  lamb  and  the  gentle  dove  were  both  appropriate 
when  offered  for  a  little  child ;  and  the  love  of  God  is 
seen  in  extending  his  regard  to  the  poorest  by  this 
arrangement.  Indeed,  there  was  in  it  a  prospective 
reference  to  Mary  and  Josephs  poverty  (Luke  ii.  22),  or 
rather  this  provision  was  made  in  order  that,  when  Jesus 
should  be  born,  he  might  manifest,  by  his  own  poverty, 
that  his  salvation  was  for  the  poorest  on  earth — the  beg- 
gar on  the  dunghill.  In  every  view  we  recognize  the 
features  of  the  same  glorious  Grospel.  The  voice  here 
may  be  only  a  whisper,  but  it  speaks  the  same  truth  as 
at  other  times  ;  "  Ho  !  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye 
to  the  waters,  and  he  that  hath  no  moneys 

And  now  the  mother  returned  home  rejoicing,  to  train 
up  her  child  for  the  Lord  who  had  accepted  her,  and  had 
taken  her  pledge  that  she  would  do  this  for  him. 

11 


INDWELLING   SIN— ITS   HOURID   FEATURES. 


"  FOR    OUT    OF   THE    HEART   PROCEED  EVIL  THOUGHTS,  MURDERS,  ADULTERIES, 
FORNICATIONS,  THEFTS,  FALSE  WITNESS,  BLASPHEMIES." Matt.  XV.  19. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

Ver.  1.     "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  and  Aaron,  saying." 

Aaron  is  present  as  well  as  Moses  on  this  occasion ; 
for  the  priests  were  to  be  judges  of  leprosy.  Hence,  the 
high  priest  is  one  of  the  original  receivers  of  these  laws. 
Jehovah  opens  up  sin  under  the  figure  of  leprosy — sin, 
as  an  evil  seen,  and  disgusting  when  seen ;  diffusive  as 
well  as  penetrating. 

An  Israelite  would  naturally  turn  his  thoughts  to  this 
chapter  when  he  read  such  language  as  Isa.  i.  6,  "  The 
whole  head  is  sick,  and  the  whole  heart  faint ;  from  the 
sole  of  the  foot  even  unto  the  head,  there  is  no  soundness 
in  it ;  but  wounds,  and  bruises,  and  putrifying  sores." 
In  Isa.  liii.  5,  "  Smitten  of  God'''  is  connected  with 
*'  stricken'^  (?^;;3)  as  if  the  stroke  of  leprosy  {ni)  were  a 
direct  infliction  of  God.  The  expressions  of  Psalm  xxxviii. 
are  borrowed  in  many  things  from  the  leprosy.  Thus, 
"  My  wounds  stink  and  are  corrupt,''^  ver.  5.     "My  loins 


CHAPTER  XIII.  243 

are  filled  with  a  loathsome  disease^  and  there  is  no  sound- 
ness in  my  flesh^''  ver.  7.  And  these  verses  are  beyond 
doubt  descriptions  of  the  horrid  features  of  sin.  Job's 
fearful  disease  was  that  more  awful  leprosy  called  elephan- 
tiasis. 

It  was  a  disease  which  man  could  never  heal ;  and 
therefore  our  Lord  manifested  no  less  than  Divine  power 
and  Grodhead  by  healing  the  lepers  as  much  as  by  raising 
the  dead.  To  turn  the  pale,  loathsome,  putrid  leper  to  all 
the  beautiful  vigor  and  health  of  a  little  child,  was  what 
only  Grod  could  do — only  the  arm  that  could  raise  the 
mouldering  carcass  from  the  grave. 

The  pain  of  common  leprosy  is  not  vehement,  but  it 
keeps  the  man  restless  and  sad.  It  is  like  sin  in  fallen 
man — the  cause  of  his  restlessness  and  sadness,  the  root 
of  his  unsatisfied  desires  ;  yet  not  itself  felt  keenly. 

Leprosy  is  also  corrosive,  and  penetrates  unseen — 
almost  unfelt — till  it  has  wasted  the  substance :  like  sin 
in  the  soul,  eating  out  its  beauty  and  its  very  life,  while 
outwardly  the  sinner  moves  about  as  before.  At  length 
it  bursts  forth  externally,  too — the  man  becomes  a  skel- 
eton, and  a  mass  of  noisome  corruption.  So  does  sin  at 
length  deface  the  whole  image  of  Grod,  and  every  faint 
vestige  of  comeliness  that  was  left.  And  death  is  the 
sure  end. 

The  Lord  sent  forth  such  a  disease  on  earth  after  the 
Fall,  to  form  it  would  seem,  a  type  of  sin.  The  workings 
of  the  leprosy  seem  appointed  by  him  on  very  purpose 
to  show  forth  sin  in  all  its  features. 

Ver,  2.  "  When  a  man  shall  have  in  the  skin  of  his  flesh  a  rising, 
a  scab,  or  bright  spot,  and  it  be  in  the  skin  of  his  flesh  like  the 
plague  of  leprosy ,  then  he  shall  be  brought  unto  Aaron  the  priest, 
or  unto  one  of  his  sons  the  priests." 


244  THE   LEPROSY. 

Here  are  three  indications  of  leprosy  begun  : — 1.  ''  A 
rising,'*^  or  boil.  2.  "  A  scab,''^  or  small  tumor.  3.  ''  A 
bright  spoty  There  is  inquiry  to  be  made  into  the 
slightest  indications  of  the  disease ;  if  not  prominent,  as 
a  boil  or  tumor,  yet  as  a  "  bright  spot"  it  may  be  there. 
Observe  the  first  appearances  of  evil  in  your  soul.  De- 
tect the  leprosy  by  what  you  see  in  your  heart's  desire, 
if  not  in  your  words,  or  in  acts.  It  is  said,  that  "  the 
bright  spof^  which  indicates  a  leprosy  begun,  is  often 
so  small  that  it  is  like  pustules  made  by  the  pricking  of 
a  pin  ;  and  so  may  be  your  first  slight,  passing  wish,  or 
half-curious  look  upon  forbidden  fruit. 

It  is  known  that  one  infected  with  this  disease  may 
live  long ;  one  born  with  it  may  live  fifty  years  :  one  who 
got  it  by  contagion,  twenty  years  (Jahn's  Archseologie) ; 
and  then  in  the  end  die  suddenly,  and  leave  the  same 
awful  disease  to  his  children.  It  was  thus  with  Adam  ; 
in  him  it  began  with  no  more  than  a  small  "  bright  spot" 
— yon  fruit  so  fair,  pleasant,  to  be  desired.  It  then 
wrought  in  him  all  the  930  years  of  his  lifetime — and 
he  left  it  to  us. 

A  special  sin  often  resembles  the  beginning  of  leprosy  ; 
as  for  example,  Noah's  drinking  too  freely  of  the  wine 
that  was  the  produce  of  the  first  grapes  that  grew  on  the 
new  earth. 

GENERAL  RULES  AS  TO  ALL  THE  THREE  SYMPTOMS. 

Ver.  3.  "  And  the  priest  shall  look  on  the  plague  in  the  skin  of  the 
flesh  :  and  when  the  hair  in  the  plague  is  turned  white,  and  the 
plague  in  sight  be  deeper  than  the  skin  of  his  flesh,  it  is  a  plague 
of  leprosy :  and  the  priest  shall  look  on  him,  and  pronounce  him 
unclean." 

Leprosy  begins  far  within — in  the  bones  and  marrow ; 


CHAPTER  XIII.  245 

and  it  is  sometimes  three  or  four  years  ere  it  come  out  to 
sight.  (Jahn's  Archseol.)  This  typical  view  of  sin  we 
see  realized  in  the  case  of  the  tender  infant,  who  lies  so 
innocent-like  on  the  mother's  breast.  Or,  if  we  take  the 
case  of  special  sins,  we  see  it  in  David,  who  seemed  of 
all  men  the  least  likely  to  be  guilty  of  adultery  and  murder 
on  the  day  when  he  sang  Psalm  xxxvi.  or  Psalm  xxxii. 
Or  in  Hazael,  when  he  honestly  exclaimed,  "  Is  thy 
servant  a  dog,  that  he  should  do  this  great  thing  ?"  (2 
Kings  viii.  13.) 

If  the  ''  hair  ivas  turned  white ^^  and  the  plague  evi- 
dently ^^  deeper  than  the  skin^''^  then  two  things  were 
evident,  viz.,  that  corruption  was  begun  in  the  blood,  and 
that  it  was  not  superficial.  There  was  a  tendency  to 
decay,  and  a  tendency  in  this  decay  to  advance  inwards. 
"Were  it  a  mere  external  deformity,  there  might  be  little 
alarm  felt ;  but  not  so  when  there  are  tokens  that  decay 
is  begun  near  the  seat  of  life.  By  this  the  Lord  taught 
Israel  that  mere  acts  of  sin  would  not  be  so  alarming, 
were  it  not  that  they  indicated  evil  in  purpose  and  feel- 
ing— a  sinful  nature^deep-seated  depravity  within. 

The  priest  was  to  examine  and  pronounce  him  un- 
clean. Our  Priest,  Jesus,  has  eyes  of  fire  to  discern  sin 
in  his  people.  He  detects  its  first  risings.  We  ought  to 
be  of  the  same  mind  with  our  Priest,  as  anxious  as  He 
to  detect  sin.  For  it  is  not  as  Judge,  but  as  Priest  that 
he  lays  it  bare  to  our  view.  These  eyes  of  flame  belong 
to  our  Priest  (see  Rev.  i.  14)  when  he  visits  his  golden 
candlesticks.  And  so  we  may  willingly  submit  to  have 
our  filthiness  brought  to  light,  when  One  standeth  by 
who  is  ready  that  very  moment  to  cleanse  it  away.  Oh  ! 
there  is  sweet  comfort  in  the  words,  ''^  The  priest  shall 
pronounce  him  unclean !"     To  be  completely  convicted 


246  THE  LEPEOSY. 

of  sin  casts  us  completely  into  the  hands  of  that  High 
Priest,  who  does  not  drive  us  from  the  sanctuary,  but 
fits  us  for  its  holy  services.  The  deep  convictions  which 
his  Holy  Spirit  works  are  meant  to  direct  the  eye  of  the 
unclean  to  the  cleansing  Priest.  Oar  High  Priest  sends 
the  Spirit  to  the  sinner,  and  the  Spirit  sends  the  sinner 
to  the  High  Priest.  "  So,"  says  one,  "  when  the  Prodigal 
had  spent  all^  and  was  famishing  with  hunger,  the  bless- 
ing came." 

THE    BRIGHT    SPOT. 

Vers.  4,  5,  6,  7,  8.  "  If  the  bright  spot  be  white  in  the  skin  of  his  flesh, 
and  in  sight  be  not  deeper  than  tlie  skin,  and  the  hair  thereof  be 
not  turned  white ;  then  the  priest  shall  shut  up  him  that  hath  the 
plague  seven  days :  And  the  priest  shall  look  on  him  the  seventh 
day :  and,  behold,  if  the  plague  in  his  sight  be  at  a  stay,  and  the 
plague  spread  not  in  the  skin ;  then  the  priest  shall  shut  him  up 
seven  days  more :  And  the  priest  shall  look  on  him  again  the 
seventh  day :  and,  behold,  if  the  plague  be  somewhat  dark,  and  the 
plague  spread  not  in  the  skin,  the  priest  shall  pronounce  him  clean ; 
it  is  but  a  scab:  and  he  shall  wash  his  clothes,  and  be  clean.  But 
if  the  scab  spread  much  abroad  in  the  skin,  after  that  he  hath  been 
seen  of  the  priest  for  his  cleansing,  he  shall  be  seen  of  the  priest 
again :  And  if  the  priest  see  that,  behold,  the  scab  spreadeth  in  the 
skin,  then  the  priest  shall  pronounce  him  unclean  :  it  is  a  leprosy." 

If  no  proof  appeared  of  deep-seated  corruption  (which 
is  meant  by  its  being  "  in  the  skin^'^''  and  "  no  ivhiteness 
in  the  haif)  it  was  not  a  leprosy  ;  but  until  it  be  ascer- 
tained that  there  is  none  such,  the  man  must  be  kept 
apart  from  others  seven  days.  "  Abstain  from  all  ap- 
pearance of  evil."  The  six  days  of  his  confinement 
might  be  expected  to  be  a  season  wherein  the  disease 
would  take  a  turn ;  Grod  had  appointed  that  period  of 
probation. 

Grod  taught  Israel  that  he  is  not  in  haste  to  condemn. 


CHAPTER  XIII.  247 

"  He  is  slow  to  anger."  Time  is  afforded  for  full  proof. 
He  allows  the  sinner  a  long  day,  during  which  the  man's 
leprosy  is  plainly  manifested.  He  allows  the  fallen  world 
its  six  days — its  6000  years — during  which  time  no 
judgment  is  pronounced  on  it.  He  waits  for  the  seventh 
day,  when  the  priest,  who  has  examined  already  into  the 
case,  shall  come  and  see  the  "  shut  up"  leper,  and  declare 
his  doom.  ''  Gfod  hath  concluded  them  all  in  unbelief," 
said  Paul,  in  Rom.  xi.  32.  The  original  is,  "  hath  shut 
them  up  together''''  (awexXsias),  and  seems  to  be  borrowed 
from  this  case  of  the  leper.  And  so  in  G-al.  iii.  22,  ''  The 
Scripture  hath  concluded" — shut  up  together  —  "all 
under  sin,  that  the  promise  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ 
might  be  given  to  them  that  believe."  The  whole  world 
is  allowed  time  to  prove  itself  sinful — utterly  sinful ;  and 
then  the  priest  comes  and  deals  with  them,  either  for 
their  cleansing,  or  for  their  eternal  exclusion  from  the 
camp ! 

If  in  the  leprous-looking  spot,  there  was  no  spreading 
of  the  disease  (ver.  5), — this  was  so  far  well.  Corrup- 
tion is  stayed,  or  else  never  was  begun.  Such  a  man  is 
to  have  the  trial  of  six  days,  and  on  the  seventh  to  be 
examined.  And  if,  on  the  seventh  day,  there  is  proof 
that  there  is  no  spreading  (ver.  6)  of  the  plague,  and  that 
the  hair  is  darker  than  it  was,  the  man  is  set  free.  Now, 
here  we  have  the  case  of  souls  pardo7ied — God's  company 
of  pardoned  ones,  whom  he  treats  for  6000  years  in  the 
way  of  probation.  They  show  that  the  disease  has  been 
stayed — pardon  has  brought  in  a  new  principle  of  holi- 
ness. They  are  not  to  be  excluded  from  the  camp  on 
the  seventh  day.  The  staying  of  the  leprosy  in  the  soul — 
the  ceasing  from  sin — proves  that  there  has  been  forgive- 
ness of  sin.     If  the  lower  waters  of  Jordan  are  ever 


248  THE  LEPEOSY. 

getting  shallower,  then  the  upper  waters  must  have  been 
cut  off.  . 

But  if,  after  an  apparent  healing,  the  scab  spread  (ver. 
7),  then  the  man  is  a  leper  after  all.  Is  this  not  typical 
of  him  who,  after  appearing  to  be  one  of  the  justified,  re- 
turns to  his  old  sins  ?  True,  believers  have  a  scab  re- 
maining— they  have  remnants  of  corruptions  ;  but  if  this 
scab — these  remnants  of  corruptions — spread  over  the 
soul,  is  not  the  man  an  unforgiven  man  ?  This  is  not 
opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  perseverance  to  the  end,  any 
more  than  are  Christ's  words,  "  If  a  man  abide  not  in 
me,  he  is  cast  forth  as  a  branch,  and  is  withered."  (John 
XV.  6.)  It  is  speaking  to  us  according  to  external  ap- 
pearance. 

THE    RISING. 

"Vers.  9,  10,  11.  "  When  the  plague  of  leprosy  is  in  a  man,  then  he  shall 
be  brought  unto  the  priest ;  and  the  priest  shall  see  him :  and,  be- 
hold, if  the  rising  be  white  in  the  skin,  and  it  have  turned  the  hair 
"white,  and  there  be  quick  raw  flesh  in  the  rising ;  it  is  an  old  leprosy 
in  the  skin  of  his  flesh ;  and  the  priest  shall  pronounce  him  unclean, 
and  shall  not  shut  him  up :  for  he  is  unclean." 

When  there  is  a  rising,  or  tumor,  which  has  the  skin 
white,  and  the  hair  in  it  white,  and  quick  raw  flesh  also 
in  the  swelling,  then  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  disease 
being  there.  "  It  is  a  leprosy  grown  old  (!^5^.i2)  in  the 
skinP  Not  only  the  flower  has  died,  but  also  the  very 
soil  in  which  it  grew.  (Procopius  apud  Patrick.)  These 
symptoms  put  the  case  beyond  doubt.  Treat  the  man, 
then,  as  unclean. 

Here  we  see  that  the  discovery  of  inward  corruption 
is  the  strongest  reason  that  can  occur  for  at  once  pro- 
nouncing the  man  unclean.  It  is  stronger  far  than  any 
abundance  of  external  marks.     And  so  in  Grod's  view, 


CHAPTER  XIII.  249 

the  existence  of  corruption  in  the  heart  is  far  worse  than 
all  its  effects  on  the  life.  The  fact  that  the  sinner's  soul 
is  long  ago  corrupt — that  it  is  infected  by  a  leprosy  that 
is  grown  old — that  it  inherits  depravity  and  enmity  to 
Grodj — this  aggravates  the  sinner's  awful  state.  On 
bringing  out  this  to  light,  the  judge  at  once  may  say, 
"  What  need  we  any  further  witnesses  ?"  The  white 
rising  and  the  white  hair^  and  the  quick  raiv  flesh  are 
traced  back  to  a  deep-seated  disease  within  that  manifests 
itself  in  these  forms ;  so,  the  foolish  talk,  the  giddy  con- 
duct, and  the  worldly  heart  are  traced  back  to  their 
source,  viz.,  a  nature  totally  depraved.  The  proof  is  com- 
plete. The  sinner  is  utterly  lost.  "  Who  can  bring  a 
clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean  ?"  Let  him  take  his  true 
position — out  of  the  camp — among  the  unclean ! 

Vers.  12,  13,  14,  15,  16,  Vl.  "  And  if  a  leprosy  break  out  abroad  in  the 
skin,  and  the  leprosy  cover  all  the  skin  of  him  that  hath  the  plague, 
from  his  head  even  to  his  foot,  wheresoever  the  priest  looketh  ;  then 
the  priest  shall  consider  :  and,  behold,  if  the  leprosy  have  covered 
all  his  flesh,  he  shall  pronounce  him  clean  that  hath  the  plague :  it 
is  all  turned  white :  he  is  clean.  But  when  raw  flesh  appeareth  in 
him,  he  shall  be  unclean.  And  the  priest  shall  see  the  raw  flesh, 
and  pronounce  him  to  be  unclean ;  for  the  raw  flesh  is  unclean :  it 
is  a  leprosy.  Or  if  the  raw  flesh  turn  again,  and  be  changed  into 
white,  he  shall  come  unto  the  priest ;  and  the  priest  shall  see  him : 
and,  behold,  if  the  plague  be  turned  into  white ;  then  the  priest 
shall  pronounce  him  clean  that  hath  the  plague :  he  is  clean." 

Some  think  a  reference  is  made  to  this  verse  (ver.  12) 
in  Isaiah  i.  5,  ''from  the  sole  of  the  foot  even  unto  the 
head  there  is  no  soundness  in  it^  If  there  be,  the  refer- 
ence is  to  the  entireness  of  the  outward,  visible  spread  of 
corruption  in  the  land,  in  Isaiah's  days. 

At  first  sight  it  seems  strange,  to  ordain  that  the  man 
should  be  reckoned  clean^  if  the  leprosy  were  out  upon 

11* 


250  THE  LEPROSY. 

him,  and  covered  him  wholly.  Tbe  reason,  however,  may- 
be, first,  naturally;  secondly,  moral.  If  natural ;  then 
it  is  either  because  the  leprosy  is  not  so  infectious  when 
it  has  thus  come  all  out  on  the  body,  the  hard  dry  scurf 
not  being  likely  to  spread  infection,  whereas  the  ichor  of 
raw  flesh  would  have  this  effect ;  or,  because  it  really  is 
not  a  proper  leprosy  if  it  so  come  out — it  is  a  salt  humor 
cast  out  by  the  strength  of  the  man's  constitution,  and  is 
not  deep-seated.  It  is  rather  a  relief  to  the  constitution ; 
even  as  when  measles  or  small-pox  come  out  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  body,  recovery  is  hopeful.  If  it  was  for  a 
moral  reason  ;  then  it  seems  meant  to  teach  that  the  Lord 
has  a  deep  abhorrence  of  a  corrupt  nature — deeper  far 
than  merely  of  corrupt  actions.  We  are  ever  ready  to 
take  home  the  guilt  of  evil  deeds,  but  to  palliate  the  evil 
of  a  depraved  heart.  But  the  Lord  reverses  the  case. 
His  severest  judgment  is  reserved  for  inward  depravity. 
He  hates  Sodom's  lewdness  and  open  vice  ;  but  he  hates 
yet  more  Bethsaida's  lieart  of  unbelief  wherein,  as  on  a 
couch,  all  Sodom's  vice  could  softly  repose  within  its 
inner  chamber.  And  yet  more.  Is  it  not  when  a  soul 
is  fully  sensible  of  entire  corruption,  as  Isa.  i.  5,  that  sal- 
vation is  nearest  ?  A  complete  Saviour  for  a  complete 
sinner  ? 

If  there  appeared  any  ^^  raw  flesh,''''  then  the  man  is 
unclean.  For  this  indicates  inward  disease — not  on  the 
surface  only.     It  is  working  into  the  flesh. 

But  if  the  ^^raw  flesh''''  turn  and  be  ^^  changed  into 
white,''''  then  it  is  plain  that  the  disease  is  not  gone  in- 
wards ;  it  is  playing  on  the  skin  only.  Let  him  stand, 
therefore,  as  clean. 

Perhaps,  the  case  of  a  pardoned  man  may  be  referred 
to  again  in  this  type.     His  iniquity  comes  all  out  to  view, 


CHAPTER  XIII.  251 

when  it  is  thrown  into  the  fountain  opened ;  and  the 
inner  source  of  it  is  checked.  The  seat  of  corruption 
has  been  removed.  But  if,  after  the  appearance  of  par- 
don, the  man  turn  aside  to  folly  (if"  raw  flesh."  appear), 
he  is  to  be  counted  unclean.  If,  however,  this  turning 
aside  to  folly  be  checked,  if  this  backsliding  be  healed, 
then  it  is  like  the  "  raw  flesh"  turning  "  into  white" — 
it  evidences  that  his  nature  is  sound — it  has  not  return- 
ed to  its  state  of  thorough  depravity. 

THE    BOIL. 

Vers.  18,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23.  "The  flesh  also,  in  which,  even  in  the 
skin  thereof,  was  a  boil,  and  is  healed,  and  in  the  place  of  the  boil 
there  be  a  white  rising,  or  a  bright  spot,  white,  and  somewhat 
reddish,*  and  it  be  showed  to  the  priest :  and  if,  when  the  priest 
seeth  it,  behold,  it  be  in  sight  lower  than  the  skin,  and  the  hair 
thereof  be  turned  white ;  the  priest  shall  pronounce  him  unclean : 
it  is  a  plague  of  leprosy  broken  out  of  the  boil.  But  if  the  priest 
look  on  it,  and  behold,  there  be  no  white  hairs  therein,  and  if  it  be 
not  lower  than  the  skin,  but  be  somewhat  dark :  then  the  priest 
shall  shut  him  up  seven  days :  and  if  it  spread  much  abroad  in  the 
skin,  then  the  priest  shall  pronounce  him  unclean :  it  is  a  plague. 
But  if  the  bright  spot  stay  in  his  place,  and  spread  not,  it  is  a  burn- 
ingf  boil ;  and  the  priest  shall  pronounce  him  clean." 

Old  ulcers  were  to  be  carefully  watched,  lest  they' 
became  means  of  the  infection  more  easily  insinuating 
itself  into  the  person.  If  the  healed  ulcer  have  any  mark 
like  a  white  rising  or  bright  spot,  wherein  the  hair  is 
turned  white,  then  corruption  is  at  work  below  the  skin. 
As  in  former  cases,  however,  if  there  was  no  sign  ap- 
parent of  its  spreading,  there  must  be  seven  days,  proba- 

*  n^QlXi'nX  "  exceedingly  shining,"  the  inflammation  being  very  red,  or 
glistening  so  as  to  be  even  like  snow.  (Patrick.)  Hence  ver.  24,  "  reddish 
or  white." 

\  RosenmuUer  from  the  Arabic  root  of  nn'ira  renders  it,  "  it  is  the  mark 
of  a  boil ;"  and  so  the  Vulgate,  Septuagint,  and  Syriac. 


252  THE   LEPROSY. 

tion.  The  spreading  would  show  that  the  blood  was 
much  vitiated. 

Israel  were  thus  taught  to  watch  against  new  sins, 
after  old  ones  were  healed ;  or,  more  especially,  the 
danger  of  coming  near  infection  after  being  once  delivered 
from  the  vicious  atmosphere.  Pardoned  men  must  be 
iealous  men.  "  Avoid  it,  pass  not  by  it;  turn  from  it, 
and  pass  away." 

It  taught,  also,  that  marks,  or  remnants  of  former  sins, 
may  remain,  though  the  leprosy  be  not  there.  Remains 
of  an  old  peevish  temper,  of  a  proud,  haughty  demeanor, 
of  a  hasty  judgment,  of  a  taste  for  some  earthly  things, 
may  exist  in  a  pardoned  man.  They  are  remnants — 
scars — of  an  old  wound.  But  if  these  indicate  a  ten- 
dency to  spread,  or  show  that  they  are  "  deeper  than  the 
skin,"  then  the  leprosy  is  there — the  man,  in  spite  of  other 
appearances,  is  really  an  unforgiven,  unsaved  man. 

THE    HOT    BURNING. 

Vers.  24,  25,  26,  2Y,  28.  "  Or  if  there  be  any  flesh,  in  the  skin  whereof 
there  is  a  hot  burning,  and  the  quick  flesh  that  burneth  have  a  white 
bright  spot,  somewhat  reddish,  or  white ;  then  the  priest  shall  look 
upon  it :  and,  behold,  if  the  hair  in  the  bright  spot  be  turned  white, 
and  it  be  in  sight  deeper  than  the  skin ;  it  is  a  leprosy  broken  out 
of  the  burning :  wherefore  the  priest  shall  pronounce  him  unclean : 
it  is  the  plague  of  leprosy.  But  if  the  priest  look  on  it,  and,  behold, 
there  be  no  white  hair  in  the  bright  spot,  and  it  be  no  lower  than 
the  other  skin,  but  be  somewhat  dark ;  then  the  priest  shall  shut 
him  up  seven  days ;  and  the  priest  shall  look  upon  him  the  seventh 
day :  and  if  it  be  spread  much  abroad  in  the  skin,  then  the  priest 
shall  pronounce  him  unclean  :  it  is  the  plague  of  leprosy.  And  if 
the  bright  spot  stay  in  his  place,  and  spread  not  in  the  skin,  but  it 
be  somewhat  dark ;  it  is  a  rising  of  the  burning,  and  the  priest  shall 
pronounce  him  clean :  for  it  is  an  inflammation^  of  the  burning." 


*  "  Mark  of  the  burning,"  as  at  ver.  23.    And  so  vers.  10  and  25,  n^na 


CHAPTER  XIII.  253 

For  ver.  24  see  note  on  ver.  19.  The  meaning  of  the 
expression  "  hot  burning''''  is  rather  obscure.  Some 
think  it  was  an  erysipelas  ;  others  that  it  was  a  hurt 
caused  by  the  falling  of  some  hot  iron  on  the  spot.  The 
rules  to  be  observed  in  examining  it  are  the  same  as 
above.  God  is  still  the  same  holy,  jealous  Grod,  but  also 
the  same  long- suffering  God — waiting  calmly  till  the  sin 
be  undoubted,  not  swift  to  take  advantage  of  mere 
symptoms.  0 !  how  ungodlike  it  is  "  to  make  a  man  an 
offender  for  a  word  !" 

We  seem,  also,  to  be  taught  another  lesson  here,  viz., 
that  in  all  keen  suffering  there  is  a  tendency  to  sin.  In 
all  diseases  that  made  the  flesh  raw,  there  was  a  ten- 
dency to  leprosy.  A  time  of  suffering,  of  whatever  sort 
be  the  suffering,  should  be  a  time  of  vigilance  on  our 
part,  lest  it  end  in  sin.  Many  things  provoke,  many 
things  gall  and  irritate,  many  things  tend  to  make  us 
selfish,  and  so  to  lead  us  to  forget  God. 

Again :  the  staying-  of  the  symptoms  was  to  be  taken 
favorably.  In  this  we  see  our  God  again — ready  to 
forgive.  If  Ahab  put  on  sackcloth,  then  the  Lord  turns 
away  from  immediate  vengeance.  If  Nineveh  repent, 
and  "  the  bright  spot  is  somewhat  dark,"  then  the  Lord 
pronounces  them  clean.  If  Ephesus  lose  her  "  first  love," 
there  is  a  "  bright  spot ;"  but  as  yet  there  is  no  "  white 
hair  on  the  bright  spot,"  and  possibly  it  may  not  be 
*'  lower  than  the  skin  ;"  therefore,  Ephesus  is  shut  up 
seven  days,  with  the  warning,  *'  Remember  from  whence 
thou  art  fallen,  and  repent,  and  do  thy  first  works,  or  else  I 
will  come  unto  thee  quickly  and  will  remove  thy  candle- 
stick out  of  his  place,  except  thou  repent."     (Rev.  ii.  5.) 

is  rendered  by  RosenmuUer  from  the  Syric  "  a  mark"    And  Onkelos  in 
the  Targum  has  rendered  it  so. 


254  THE   LEPEOSY. 

DISEASE    IN   THE  HEAD,    OR    IN    THE    BEARD. 

Vers.  29,  30,  31,  32,  33,  34,  "  If  a  man  or  woman  have  a  plague 
upon  the  head  or  beard,  then  the  priest  shall  see  the  plague ;  and, 
behold,  if  it  be  in  sight  deeper  than  the  skin,  and  there  be  in  it  a 
yellow  thin  hair,  then  the  priest  shall  pronounce  him  unclean  :  it  is 
a  dry  scall,  even  a  leprosy  upon  the  head  or  beard.  And  if  the 
priest  look  on  the  plague  of  the  scall,  and,  behold,  it  be  not  in  sight 
deeper  than  the  skin,  and  that  there  is  no  black  hair  in  it,  then  the 
priest  shall  shut  up  him  that  hath  the  plague  of  the  scall  seven 
days:  and  in  the  seventh  day  the  priest  shall  look  on  the  plague; 
and,  behold,  if  the  scald  spread  not,  and  there  be  in  it  no  yellow 
hair,  and  the  scall  be  not  in  sight  deeper  than  the  skin,  he  shall  be 
shaven,  but  the  scall  shall  he  not  shave ;  and  the  priest  shall  shut 
up  him  that  hath  the  scall  seven  days  more :  and  in  the  seventh 
day  the  priest  shall  look  on  the  scall ;  and,  behold,  if  the  scall  be 
not  spread  in  the  skin,  nor  be  in  sight  deeper  than  the  skin  ;  then 
the  priest  shall  pronounce  him  clean  :  and  he  shall  wash  his  clothes, 
and  be  clean." 

Leprosy  might  begin,  not  only  in  the  skin,  but  even 
under  the*  hair  of  the  head,  or  in  the  beard.  Sin  may 
originate  in  most  unlooked-for  ways  and  places,  and  must 
be  watched  against  everywhere.  The  head  and  the 
beard  are  the  proper  seat  of  honor,  or  of  what  is  seemly 
and  lovely  to  look  upon.  When  the  hair  became 
'"''yellow^''  corruption  was  at  work,  changing  the  bushy 
hair  into  lank  tufts,  and  the  healthy  color  into  a  yellow 
paleness.  Herein  the  change  of  external  aspect,  pro- 
duced by  sin,  is  declared. 

But  as  it  was  possible  that  the  hair  might  really  be 
drawing  its  nourishment  from  the  vitality  of  the  body, 
notwithstanding  this  unfavorable  symptom,  there  is  to 
be  caution  shown.  The  inner  parts  may  be  sound  ;  this 
may  be  only  a  scall  on  the  head,  and  not  a  leprosy. 

Again  we  see  the  character  of  our  God.  1.  How  holy 
is  he  !  The  first  rising  of  evil  is  watched  and  pointed  at 
with  hatred.     2.  How   lovino;  is  he  !     He   deals  most 


CHAPTER  XIII.  255 

tenderly  with  the  suspected  man.  3.  How  just  is  he ! 
It  must  be  noonday  clearness  ere  he  pronounces  sentence  ; 
all  doubt  is  gone  ! 

Vers.  35,  36,  37.  "But  if  the  scall  spread  much  in  the  skin  after  his 
cleansing ;  then  the  priest  shall  look  on  him :  and,  behold,  if  the 
scall  be  spread  in  the  skin,  the  priest  shall  not  seek  for  yellow  hair ; 
he  is  unclean.  But  if  the  scall  be  in  his  sight  at  a  stay,  and  that 
there  is  a  black  hair  grown  up  therein ;  the  scall  is  healed,  he  is 
clean  :  and  the  priest  shall  pronounce  him  clean." 

The  examination  is  never  allowed  to  go  into  other 
hands  than  the  priest's,  whose  skill,  and  experience,  and 
compassion  fitted  him  best  for  the  work.  Oh,  how  sweet 
to  know  that  "  The  Father  judgeth  no  man,  but  hath 
committed  all  judgment  unto  the  son."  (John  v.  22.) 
He  leaves  us  to  be  judged  by  no  new  standard,  but  just 
by  that  same  standard  whereby  Jesus  judged  when  on 
earth.  Therefore,  we  may  be  assured  that  for  every  sin 
that  the  Judge  will  bring  to  light  in  us,  there  is  a  remedy 
in  the  blood  of  his  own  atonement. 

The  unchecked  spread  of  the  disease  proves  him  a 
leper.  So  does  the  unchecked  flow  of  sin  prove  a  man  a 
child  of  hell !  you  need  not  to  insist  on  "  the  yellow  hair" 
— the  outward  indications — if  the  man's  heart  be  as 
before,  he  is  unclean !  "  For  he  that  is  born  of  God 
sinneth  not." 

We  have  a  God  ready  to  bless!  If  the  ^^  hair  be 
blacky''''  and  "  the  scall  at  a  staif — the  conduct  changed 
and  the  heart  cleansed — then  there  is  no  waiting,  no 
suspense  of  5e^;e7^  days  ;  but,  on  the  contrary  immediate, 
acquittal.  No  man,  who  was  clean,-  was  to  be  kept  in 
uncertainty  of  his  cleanness  ;  and  no  man,  when  cleansed 
from  every  symptom,  to  be  detained  in  a  probationary 
state.     We  see  the  very  features  of  the  Lord'"s  merciful 


256  THE   LEPROSY. 

haste  to  tlie  sinner.  Immediate  pardon — full  and  present 
assurance — restoration  to  his  love  and  favor  on  the  spot 
— liberty  that  hour. 

FRECKLED  SPOTS  NOT  LEPROSY. 

Vers.  38,  39.  "  If  a  man  also  or  a  woman  have  in  the  skin  of  their  flesh 
bright  spots,  even  white  bright  spots,  then  the  priest  shall  look : 
and,  behold,  if  the  bright  spots  in  the  skin  of  their  flesh  be  darkish 
white,  it  is  a  freckled  spot  that  groweth  in  the  skin ;  he  is  clean." 

These  spots  might  be  only  a  cutaneous  eruption  ;  but 
they  were  grounds  of  suspicion,  because  leprosy  often 
begins  in  this  form.  But  spots  so  small,  not  altering  the 
color  of  the  hair,  appearing  only  on  the  neck  and  face, 
are  only  the  sign  of  what  they  call  "  Bocliak^''  an  erup- 
tion that  passed  away  soon. 

The  Lord  as  carefully  guards  against  imputing  to  a 
man  more  than  is  due,  as  against  letting  a  man  escape 
from  what  is  his  due.  He  holds  the  balance  even.  ''  A 
God  of  truth  and  without  iniquity" — he  goeth  neither  to 
the  right  hand  nor  left. 

BALDNESS. 

Vers.  40,  41,  42, 43, 44.  "  And  the  man  whose  hair  is  fallen  off  his  head, 
he  is  bald ;  yet  is  he  clean.  And  he  that  hath  his  hair  fallen  off 
from  the  part  of  his  head  toward  his  face,  he  is  forehead  bald :  yet 
is  he  clean.  And  if  there  be  in  the  bald  head,  or  bald  forehead,  a 
white  reddish  sore ;  it  is  a  leprosy  sprung  up  in  his  bald  head,  or 
his  bald  forehead.  Then  the  priest  shall  look  upon  it :  and,  behold, 
if  the  rising  of  the  sore  be  white  reddish  in  his  bald  head,  or  in  his 
bald  forehead,  as  the  leprosy  appeareth  in  the  skin  of  the  flesh ;  he 
is  a  leprous  man,  he  is  unclean :  the  priest  shall  pronounce  him 
utterly  unclean  ;  his  plague  is  in  his  head." 

The  falling  off  of  hair  from  the  forehead  indicated 
some  decay ;  yet  it  might  not  be  any  more  than  on  the 
surface.     The  Great  Physician  knows  what  are  not  in- 


CHAPTER  XIII.  257 

dications  of  deep  corruption,  as  well  as  what  are.  Ceas- 
ing from  some  busy  undertaking  may,  at  one  time,  be  no 
proof  of  any  real  decay  of  inward  love  ;  whereas,  at  other 
times,  it  may  be  the  outward  discovery  of  what  was  long 
going  on  within  secretly.  When  the  disciples  all  fled, 
this  was  "  the  hair  of  the  forehead)'^  decayed  ;  yet  still 
there  was  no  ''  white,  reddish  sore."  When,  however, 
the  many,  in  John  vi.  ^^^  went  back  and  walked  no 
more  with  Jesus,  this  falling  off  of  hair  that  looked  fair 
before,  brought  into  view  the  leprosy  that  had  been  work- 
ing its  way  behind  this  concealment.  When  John  Mark 
left  Paul  and  Barnabas,  there  was  a  call  for  the  physician 
examining.  Paul  suspected  a  hidden  leprosy.  It  turned 
out  that  there  was  none.  When  Simon  Magus  offered 
money  to  Peter,  ''  his  bald  head  and  forehead"  too  plainly 
revealed  "  the  rising  of  the  sore,  white,  reddish." 

Vers.  45,  46.  "  And  the  leper  in  whom  the  plague  is,  his  clothes  shall 
be  rent,  and  his  head  bare,  and  he  shall  put  a  covering  upon  his 
upper  lip,  and  shall  cry.  Unclean,  unclean.  All  the  days  wherein 
the  plague  shall  be  in  him  he  shall  be  defiled ;  he  is  unclean :  he 
shall  dwell  alone  ;*  without  the  camp  shall  his  habitation  be." 

The  leper,  in  this  state  of  declared  uncleanness,  is  the 
awful  type  of  a  sinner  under  sentence  of  wrath. 

His  "  clothes  are  to  be  rent,^^f  just  as  in  all  cases  of 

*  The  Septuagint  here  use  the  expression,  " kcx^P^'^i^'vos  KaOriaerai" 
Thorough  separation  from  other  men  may  be  the  thing  expressed.  So, 
when  Jesus  is  said  to  have  been  "  Kex'^p^^i^svoi  diro  twv  anaproiXCiv"  (Heb.  vii. 
26),  as  thorough  a  separation  as  this  here  is  meant — only  men  are  the 
lepers.     He  is  the  Untainted  One. 

f  The  word  D^a^iS.  is  "ripped  up — seamed;"  perhaps  as  a  sign  that  the 
passages  of  death  were  opened.  Death  enters  by  these  rent  seams,  and 
the  curse  follows  it,  "  He  in  whose  flesh  evil  prevails  is  preparing  sorrow 
for  himself,  and  bringing  himself,  in  his  wilfulness,  into  the  condition  of  a 
mourner."    (Dealings  of  God  with  the  Leprous  Man ; — tract.) 


258  THE  LEPROSY. 

mourning  and  woe.  This  indicated  that  the  leper  was 
now  exposed  to  the  full  view  of  God  and  man  in  his  state 
of  decay  and  corruption.  His  ''  head  bare,''^  also.  All 
coverings  are  stript  off,  as  in  the  case  of  one  mourning 
for  the  dead.  For  the  leper  was  counted  as  dead  in  his 
flesh  ;  as  we  read  in  Num.  xii.  12,  when  Miriam's  leprosy- 
was  prayed  for,  "  Let  her  not  be  as  one  dead  ;  of  whom 
the  flesh  is  half  consumed  when  he  cometh  out  of  his 
mother's  womb."  So,  also,  he  "  covers  Ms  upper  lip''^ — 
another  token  of  woe.  His  mouth  is  regarded  as  shut ; 
he  cannot  speak  to  men  any  longer,  only  through  the 
shroud  comes  the  half-suppressed  cry,  "  Unclean^  un- 
clean.''^ The  pale,  ghastly  face — the  covering  spread  up 
to  the  sunk  and  hollow  eyes — the  unsightly  form  muffled 
up  from  view  to  hide  corruption  and  putrifying  sores — all 
conveyed  the  idea  of  one  already  cut  off*  from  the  number 
of  living  men,  lingering  at  the  gates"  of  death  and  hang- 
ing about  its  door-posts,  impatient  for  entrance  there.  He 
is  forced  to  dwell  alone,  "  as  those  who  have  long  been 
dead ;"  permitted  to  come  only  within  sight  of  the  camp, 
but  not  to  enter ;  tantalized  by  seeing  afar  off  the  happy 
tents  of  healthy,  holy  Israel.  He  sits  without,*  in 
mourning  and  sadness,  pining  away  in  his  woe — every 
vein  in  every  limb  running  down  with  putrid  blood,  his 
head  sick  and  pained,  his  countenance  disgusting  the  on- 
looker by  the  sallow  hue  of  death,  his  mind  filled  with 
sad  remembrances  and  gloomy  imaginations.  A  gray 
blister,  indicating  the  rising  boil,  now  and  then  spots  his 
temples ;  the  hair  hangs  dry,  lank,  and  sapless  on  his 

*  Psalm  Ixxxviii.  4,  is  to  be  thus  understood :—"  i^r(?e,"  is  *»QJBn,  the 
peculiarly  appropriate  term  for  one  "  set  apart  as  a  leper."  It  is  used  of 
Uzziah.  Then,  "Among  the  dead;"  like  one  dead,  as  we  see  above  in  the 
leper's  case. 


CHAPTER  XIII.  259 

brow ;  the  nails  of  his  bony  fingers  are  discolored  and 
tainted.  He  moves  his  body  slowly,  tottering  along  on 
feet  that  are  nearly  powerless,  and  men  "  hide  their  faces 
from  him"  (Isa.  liii.  3)  as  he  draws  near.  Even  the  wild 
Arab,  that  scours  past  on  his  swift  steed,  starts  at  the 
loathsome  spectacle  and  hastens  away.  The  leper  him- 
self feels  life  ebbing  slowly  ;  the  blood  still  flows,  but  it 
is  not  with  the  freedom  of  health,  and  the  arteries  have 
no  longer  their  full  floods,  like  rushing  torrents,  but  are 
clogged  with  thick,  clammy,  sluggish,  moisture. 

Here  is  the  state  of  the  sinner,  not  in  the  second  death, 
but  in  this  world,  in  his  exclusion  from  the  Lord's  pres- 
ence, and  dead  in  sin.  The  inner  man  has  lost  every 
principle  of  holiness ;  his  powers  are  withered,  every 
sinew  shrunk.  Any  attempts  at  spiritual  motions  are 
slow  and  lifeless.  Streams  of  putrid  impurity  burst 
forth  in  his  soul.  His  eye  has  none  of  the  brightness  of 
one  gazing  on  a  holy  G-od  and  a  reconciled  countenance, 
but  indicates  an  absence  of  all  that  can  really  cheer  or 
delight.  The  death-like  hue  of  the  whole  form  proclaims 
the  total  departure  of  the  breath  of  Grod  and  the  Divine 
nature.  From  such  a  soul,  God  turns  away  his  face. 
Nor  can  the  sinner  pretend  to  any  fellowship  with  the 
saints,  or  any  right  to  a  place  in  the  camp  of  Israel. 
Often  he  sees  their  joy  ;  he  is  present  in  their  solemnities, 
and  looks  on  from  afar,  and  feels  his  misery  deepened  by 
the  contrast  of  these  happy  multitudes.  His  own  con- 
science compels  him  to  cry,  "  Unclean,  unclean." 

Such  was  Isaiah's  experience  for  a  time,  when,  with 
no  more  than  the  remnants  and  remembrance  of  his 
leprosy,  he  entered  the  holy  sanctuary  above.  Such  is 
every  convinced  soul's  experience  in  the  day  of  the 
Spirit's  dealing  with  it ;  when  the  High  Priest  has  begun 


260  THE  LEPKOSY. 

his  treatment  of  the  sin-sick  soul,  compelling  it  to  un- 
cover its  head  and  rend  its  garment,  and,  with  lips 
covered  up,  to  take  the  position  of  one  exposed  to  death 
and  curse. 

Yet  all  this  is  but  the  shadow  of  death.  Convictions 
here,  and  fears  and  terrors  here,  are  only  faint  shadows. 
Death  itself — the  second  death — which  casts  this  shadow, 
is  behind.  And  then  the  leprous  soul  is  eternally  loath- 
some, eternally  abhorred,  eternally  dead  and  corrupt, 
eternally  excluded  from  the  fellowship  of  saints,  eternally 
hid  from  the  face  of  Grod,  and  eternally  within  hearing 
and  sight  of  happy  Israel,  though  there  is  a  gulf  that 
cannot  be  passed,  between  !  And  none  will  or  can  offer 
sympathy  to  the  eternally  exiled  man  ! 

Oh,  leprous  soul,  a  High  Priest  passes  through  thy 
country  now,  who  could  deliver  thee  from  thy  diseases. 
Come,  come,  though  thou  hast  sat  alone  under  thy 
juniper-tree,  apart  from  men,  these  many,  many  days ! 
Come,  though  in  vain  thou  hast  hitherto  looked  for  any 
abatement  of  thy  disease  !  Perhaps  no  man  ever  cared 
for  thy  soul  ?  Perhaps  thou  hast  looked  on  the  right 
hand,  and  there  was  no  man  that  would  know  thee  ? 
Perhaps  it  is  long  since  refuge  failed  thee  ?  But  a  High 
Priest  is  in  the  land,  who  can  deliver  thee.  He  takes 
thee  as  thou  art ;  he  pronounces  thee  as  thou  really  art, 
"  Unclea7i,  unclean  ;"  and  then  he  stoops  down  and  says, 
"  Look  unto  me  and  be  saved  .^"  He  passes  by  ;  he  walks 
on  the  outside  of  the  city,  where  the  lepers  are  sitting, 
wistfully  looking  in  through  its  gates,  yet  not  daring  to 
enter ;  he  will  soon  enter  in,  and  shut  its  everlasting 
gates !  Invite  him  near  ;  nay,  he  is  near.  "He  it  is 
that  talketh  with  thee!"  He  has  blood  that  cleanses 
from  all  sin.    His  touch  is  healing  ;  his  look  is  life  !    But 


CHAPTER  XIII.  261 

if  once  in  hell,  thou  art  forever  and  forever  miserable. 
No  balm  in  Grilead  is  there  ;  no  tidings  of  a  leaf  of  the 
healing  tree  !  The  High  Priest  that  can  deliver  never 
passes  through  that  cursed  land.  Leprosy  is  eternal 
there  ;  and  therefore  wailing  and  woe  never  end.  "  He 
that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear !" 

LEPROSY  IN   GARMENTS. 

Vers,  47,  48.  "  The  garment  also  that  the  plague  of  leprosy  is  in, 
whether  it  be  a  woollen  garment  or  a  linen  garment,  whether  it  be 
in  the  warp,  or  woof,  of  linen,  or  of  woollen :  whether  in  a  skin,  or 
in  anything  made  of  skin." 

This  leprosy  in  garments  is  to  represent  something 
quite  different  from  leprosy  in  the  man  himself.  It  is  to 
be  a  type  of  sin  and  defilement,  not  in  his  person,  but  in 
the  tlmigs  around  him.  Anything  round  about  the  man 
is  this  garment ;  the  circumstances  in  the  midst  of  which 
he  is  placed,  the  business  he  engages  in,  the  comforts 
that  impart  a  warmth  to  his  person,  the  occurrences 
that  affect  his  daily  feeling.  When  Jude  (ver.  23)  speaks 
of  "  the  garment  spotted  by  the  flesh,"  he  evidently  means 
the  person's  external  contact  with  the  world  around  him  ; 
and  when  the  few  names  in  Sardis  are  commended  be- 
cause "  they  have  not  defiled  their  garments''''  (Rev.  iii. 
4),  reference  is  made  to  the  allurements  and  sinful  habits 
of  all  around  them. 

A  clothes-leprosy  and  house-leprosy  may  have  existed 
then,  though  it  does  not  now ;  just  like  the  case  of  the 
demoniacs^  in  the  time  of  our  Lord.  And  the  plague 
that  was  called  leprosy  in  garments,  was  co-relative  to 
that  disease  in  the  human  subject.  It  is  like  (as  observed 
by  others)  the  application  of  the  term  "  cancer,''''  to  a 
disease  in  trees,  and  of ''  ro^,"  to  a  disease  among  sheep 


262  THE   LEPROSY. 

As  the  skin  of  the  leper  is  fretted  away,  so  there  is  a 
mode  in  which  garments  may  be  affected  analogous  to 
this — when  vermin  or  animalculse  settle  secretly  in  the 
garment,  and  fret  away  the  threads.  Michaelis  men- 
tions, what  is  called  '^dead-wool,''''  that  is,  wool  of  sheep 
that  died  by  disease ;  and  it  is  found  to  be  bad,  losing 
the  points,  and  ready  to  be  settled  in  by  vermin.  Cloth 
made  of  it  soon  becomes  very  bare,  and  then  full  of  holes. 
Such  is  the  literal  circumstance  from  which  the  type  is 
taken.  Learn,  reader,  to  wear  no  garment  that  is  ex- 
posed to  corrosive  influences.  Frequent  no  company  that 
has  a  fretting  leprosy — unsound  at  heart,  and  communi- 
cating its  unsoundness  to  you.  "Withdraw  from  the  wells 
of  Esek  and  Sitnah  (Gren.  xxvi.  20,  21),  like  Isaac,  when 
you  feel  that  there  is  evil  in  the  situation,  and  the  men 
who  are  there.  If  much  prosperity  is  apt  to  make  you 
settle  on  your  lees,  like  Israel  (Deut.  viii.  11)  when  they 
had  eaten  to  the  full,  and  walked  among  their  countless 
flocks,  and  heaped  up  silver  and  gold — then,  shake  the 
garment ;  beware  of  Atheism  ;  "  beware  that  thou  forget 
not  the  Lord  thy  Grod." 

It  was  of  little  consequence  how  goodly  the  garment 
appeared.  Be  not  deceived  by  a  fair  show.  Whether 
the  garment  was  wrought  of  material  got  from  the 
animal  creation  ("  wool"),  or  from  the  vegetable  world 
("  linen") ;  or  whether  it  was  composed  of  a  mixture  of 
threads,  those  in  the  warp  being  of  wool,  those  in  the 
woof  of  linen  or  flax ;  nay,  though  it  were  a  strong  gar- 
ment of  skin,  or  of  some  manufacture  of  skin* — whether 
of  simple,  primeval  strength  and  roughness,  or  fashioned 
into  a  finer  texture— still,  if  there  was  the  least  ground 

*  -lisr  nSHb^  :  "  work— manufacture  of  skin." 


CHAPTER  XIII.  263 

for  suspicion,  it  must  be  subject  to  instant  examination, 
however  costly  and  however  esteemed  for  comfort.  You 
must  not  judge  of  the  innocuous  nature  of  an  employ- 
ment or  a  possession  by  its  appearance  only,  nor  by  its 
suitableness  to  your  taste,  nor  by  the  estimation  in  which 
it  is  held ;  you  must  be  prepared  to  admit  examination. 

Vers.  49,  50,  51,  52,  53,  54,  55,  56,  61,  58,  59.  «  And  if*  the  plague  be 
greenish  or  reddish  in  the  garment,  or  in  the  skin,  either  in  the 
warp,  or  in  the  woof,  or  in  anything  of  skin ;  it  is  a  plague  of 
leprosy,  and  shall  be  showed  unto  the  priest :  and  the  priest  shall 
look  upon  the  plague,  and  shut  up  it  that  hath  the  plague  seven 
days :  and  he  shall  look  on  the  plague  on  the  seventh  day  :  if  the 
plague  be  spread  in  the  garment,  either  in  the  warp  or  in  the  woof, 
or  in  a  skin,  or  in  any  work  that  is  made  of  skin ;  the  plague  is  a 
fretting  leprosy ;  it  is  unclean.  He  shall  therefore  burn  that  gar- 
ment, whether  warp  or  woof,  in  woollen  or  in  linen,  or  anything  of 
skin,  wherein  the  plague  is:  for  it  is  a  fretting  leprosy  ;  it  shall  be 
burnt  in  the  fire.  And  if  the  priest  shall  look,  and,  behold,  the 
plague  be  not  spread  in  the  garment,  either  in  the  warp,  or  in  the 
woof,  or  in  anything  of  skin ;  then  the  priest  shall  command  that 
they  wash  the  thing  wherein  the  plague  is,  and  he  shall  shut  it  up 
seven  days  more :  and  the  priest  shall  look  on  the  plague,  after  that 
it  is  washed :  and,  behold,  if  the  plague  have  not  changed  his  color, 
and  the  plague  be  not  spread  ;  it  is  unclean  ;  thou  shalt  burn  it  in 
the  fire  ;  it  is  fret  inward,  whether  it  be  bare  within  or  without.f 
And  if  the  priest  look,  and,  behold,  the  plague  be  somewhat  dark 
after  the  washing  of  it,  then  he  shall  rend  it  out  of  the  garment,  or 
out  of  the  skin,  or  out  of  the  warp,  or  out  of  the  woof:  and  if  it 
appear  still  in  the  garment,  either  in  the  warp,  or  in  the  woof,  or  in 
anything  of  skin,  it  is  a  spreading  plague :  thou  shalt  burn  that 

*  "  And  if."     Connect  this  verse  with  verse  41,  "  The  garment,  if  there 

be  in  it and  if  the  plague  be  greenish."   The  Hebrew  is  so, 

ia  tT^.n'?  ^?  and  "^^^l  •  The  word  for  greenish  is  P'^P'^'?,  intense  green; 
such  as  is  seen  in  the  wings  of  a  peaoock,  or  leaf  of  a  palm-tree.  (Mai- 
monides  apud  Patr.) 

f  Rosenmuller  renders  this  rightly.  It  is  a  fretting  leprosy,  whether  on 
the  left  side  of  the  cloth  (the  bare  side),  or  on  the  right  side  (the  shaggy 
side) — whether  on  one  side  or  other. 


264  THE  LEPEOSY. 

wherein  the  plague  is  with  fire.  And  the  garment,  either  warp,  or 
woof,  or  whatsoever  thing  of  skin  it  be,  which  thou  shalt  wash,  if 
the  plague  be  departed  from  them,  then  it  shall  be  washed  the 
second  time,  and  shall  be  clean.  This  is  the  law  of  the  plague  of 
leprosy  in  a  garment  of  woollen  or  linen,  either  in  the  warp,  or 
woof,  or  anything  of  skins,  to  pronounce  it  clean,  or  to  pronounce 
it  unclean." 

A  garment  really  infected  must  be  burnt.  There  must 
be  a  final  forsaking  of  every  real  sin.  "  If  thy  right 
hand  offend  thee,  cut  it  off;"  or  if  not,  "  thou  goest  to 
hell  fire,  where  their  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not 
quenched." 

So  hateful  to  Grod  is  every  approach  to  sin.  There- 
fore, even  on  suspicion  of  evil,  examine  anxiously.  If 
there  be  even  suspicion  as  to  a  garment,  the  priest  shuts 
it  up — lays  it  by.  So  you  give  over  the  company  you 
are  afraid  has  an  injurious  influence  on  you ;  you  give 
up  the  meats  about  which  you  are  in  doubt  (Eom.  xiv. 
15),  or  about  which  your  brother  is  in  doubt.  If  you  can 
really  rend  out  the  spotted  part,  this  is  well.  David's 
pride  of  heart  when  he  numbered  the  people,  must  be 
rent  from  him  by  the  sharp  stroke  that  cut  off  70,000 
threads  of  life.  Hezekiah's  pride  must  be  rent  off  by  the 
sword  that  is  to  destroy  his  people,  and  carry  his  wealth 
to  Babylon.  Peter's  self-confidence  must  be  torn  from 
him,  by  his  being  placed  among  the  other  disciples  in 
abasement ;  "  Lovest  thou  me  more  than  these  .^" 

If,  however,  again  the  plague  break  out,  the  garment 
is  no  doubt  deeply  spoiled.  It  is  to  be  burnt.  Thus, 
when  Israel's  plenty  and  security — their  garment  of 
beauty  and  confidence — led  them  to  indulgence  and  sin, 
the  Lord  rent  off  the  pieces.  But  when,  at  last,  the  same 
sin  ever  returned,  then  he  cast  them  away  into  an 
enemy's  land. 


CHAPTER  XIII.  265 

But,  lastly,  if  the  garment  out  of  which  the  piece  was 
rent,  be  found  remaining  clean,  then  "  let  it  be  washed  a 
second  tiiue^  Let  Peter,  after  his  recovery  from  his  fall, 
be  warned  once  more,  to  impress  the  special  need  he  has 
of  securing  himself  against  the  temptation  in  time  to 
come.  There  is  to  be  no  doubtful  holiness  with  God. 
He  requires  in  his  people  definite  and  distinct  purity.  He 
likes  us  to  make  much  use  of  His  Holy  Spirit,  so  that  our 
freedom  from  the  world's  snares  and  the  world's  maxims 
may  be  plain  to  every  eye.  Oh,  how  holy  is  our  G-od ! 
How  holy  in  himself !  His  heart  has  no  other  than  holu 
ness  as  its  feeling.  And  when  his  eye  looks  abroad  on 
us,  it  is  holiness  it  searches  for.  He  seeks  for  holiness  in 
our  person,  and  holiness  in  our  circiwistances — a  holy 
people  moving  amid  holiness  !  Hence  it  was  that  when 
Isaiah  was  enjoying  a  truly  divine  and  heavenly  gaze  of 
the  Lord  of  Glory,  he  perceived  at  once  that  both  the 
person  and  his  circumstances  ought  to  be  holy  before 
such  a  God.  He  felt  not  only  ''  Woe  is  me  because  I  am 
a  man  of  unclean  lips ;"  but  even  had  he  been  himself 
holy  and  pure,  still,  before  such  a  God,  how  distressing 
the  thought,  "  I  dwell  among  a  people  of  unclean  lips  I" 
Alas  !  alas  !  /  am  a  leper  myself — "  Unclean,  unclean  !" 
and  my  garments  have  the  fretting  leprosy  also  !  I  dwell 
among  the  unclean ! 

There  remains  yet  the  mention  of  an  unclean  earth. 
That  subject  is  taken  up,  chap.  xiv.  33.  But  it  is  not 
mixed  up  with  the  person  and  his  garments,  because 
these  two  may  be  clean,  while  still  the  earth  remains 
unpurified.  There  is  to  be  a  cleansing  of  our  persons 
and  of  our  circumstances  now ;  but  not  a  cleansing  of 
the  land  or  of  its  properties  till  an  after  period.  And, 
to  show  this  the  more,  observe  that  the  laws  about  the 

12 


266  THE  LEPROSY. 

person  and  Ins  garment  came  into  full  operation  while 
they  wandered  in  the  desert.  But  those  laws  that  con- 
cerned the  land — typical  of  the  earth — did  not  come  into 
operation  till  they  reached  Canaan.  See  chap.  xiv.  34, 
"  When  ye  be  come  into  the  land  of  Canaan.''''  We  are 
journeying  onward  to  a  pure  land,  to  a  new  earth  ;  but, 
meantime,  we  are  carefully  to  see  that  our  persons  and 
circumstances  be  pure.  No  sight  is  more  peculiar,  and 
perhaps  more  attractive  to  the  eye  of  angels  and  of  Grod, 
than  holiness  in  full  hloom^  though  springing  up  from 
the  soil  of  a  cursed  earth  !  Such  a  magnificent  plant, 
with  such  waste  sands,  and  barren  clay,  and  rocky  soil 
all  around  !  This  recalls  the  image  of  the  Son  of  Man, 
when  in  Nazareth  ''he  grew  up  before  him  as  a  tender 
plant !" 

Oh,  seek  to  be  holy  in  heart  and  life,  in  circumstances 
and  situation !  Breathe  holiness  from  within,  and 
breathe  holiness  on  all  around  !  Send  a  fragrant  gale  of 
holiness  along  the  wild  desert ;  it  may  slacken  the  pace 
of  some  weary,  miserable  wanderer,  as  the  spices  breathed 
from  "  Araby  the  blessed"  delay  the  ship  that  passes  by. 
Send  up  the  incense  of  holiness  to  the  Lord,  giving  him 
back  his  own  ;  and  let  it  be  known  above  that  the  Spirit 
who  goeth  to  and  fro  in  all  the  earth,  striving  with  men, 
has  found  a  dwelling-place  in  some  souls,  and  has  begun 
to  create  a  heaven  below  ! 


t  ftprnsii  IRtmntttt 


"  BUT  GOD,  WHO  IS  RICH  IN  MERCY,  FOR  HIS  GREAT  LOVE  WHEREWITH  HE 
LOVED  US,  EVEN  WHEN  WE  WERE  DEAD  IN  SINS,  HATH  QUICKENED  US  TOGETHER 
WITH  CHRIST  :  (by  GRACE  YE  ARE  SAVED  ;)  AND  HATH  RAISED  US  UP  TOGETHER, 
AND  MADE  US  SIT  TOGETHER  IN  HEAVENLY  PLACES  IN  CHRIST  JESUS :  THAT  IN 
THE  AGES  TO  COME  HE  MIGHT  SHOW  THE  EXCEEDING  RICHES  OF  HIS  GRACE  IN 
HIS  KINDNESS  TOWARDS  US  THROUGH  CHRIST  JESUS." — Eph.  ii.  4-7. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Vers,  1,  2,  3,  4.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  This  shall 
be  the  law  of  the  leper  in  the  day  of  his  cleansing :  he  shall  be 
brought  unto  the  priest :  and  the  priest  shall  go  forth  out  of  the 
camp ;  and  the  priest  shall  look,  and,  behold,  if  the  plague  of  leprosy 
be  healed  in  the  leper ;  then  shall  the  priest  command  to  take  for 
him  that  is  to  be  cleansed  two  birds  alive  and  clean,  and  cedar 
wood,  and  scarlet,  and  hyssop." 

Here  is  the  remedy  in  the  case  of  the  person.  Some 
have  thought  this  to  be  used  not  only  in  cases  of  real 
healing,  but  in  cases  also  where  the  leprosy  being  fully 
spread,  there  was  no  more  of  the  disease  in  the  man  than 
had  already  appeared.  It  seems  likely  that  both  are 
meant.  In  Israel,  there  were  cases,  no  doubt,  wherein 
symptoms  of  real  leprosy  led  the  man  to  use  means  for 
a  cure,  and  to  call  on  the  Lord,  who  sent  his  word  and 
healed  them.  And,  no  doubt,  also,  there  were  those  in 
whom  the  full-blown  leprosy  had  come  forth  and  who 


268  THE   LEPROSY  REMOVED. 

were  cleansed,  or,  pronounced  legally  clean.  At  this 
day  in  some  Eastern  Countries,  it  often  happens  that 
after  eating  away  the  hands  or  feet,  the  stumps  of  the 
limbs  heal,  and  the  disease  is  in  fact  cured.  It  spreads 
no  further.*  These  latter  cases  were  types  of  justified 
men — having  still  a  polluted  nature,  yet  really  forgiven ; 
and  no  longer  conveying  infection  to  others,  but  '*  preach- 
ing the  faith  which  once  they  destroyed." 

The  leper  that  was  to  be  cleansed  was  to  direct  his 
steps  to  the  priests  and  ask  an  audience.  Like  the  four 
men  at  the  gate  of  Samaria  (2  Kings  viii.  10),  when  they 
called  to  the  porter  of  the  city,  standing  afar  off;  or  like 
the  ten  men  (Luke  xvii.  12)  at  the  entrance  of  the 
village,  who  stood  afar  off  and  lifted  up  their  voices  and 
said,  "Jesus,  Master,  have  mercy  on  us." 

As  much  depended  on  the  priest's  willingness  to  listen 
to  his  imploring  cry,  a  leprous  Israelite  would  often  go  up 
to  the  spot  whence  he  could  call  on  him  desponding  or 
fearful.  And  the  priest,  however  willing,  might  be  busy 
so  as  not  to  be  able  to  come  at  once.  As,  with  most  wistful 
eye,  the  man  gazes  on  the  living,  cheerful  camp,  he  sees 
one  and  another  meet  the  priest  and  pour  some  message 
or  entreaty  into  his  ear — so  that  the  priest  is  detained, 
and  hurried  away  to  this  and  that  part  of  the  camp, 
while  the  trembling,  weary  leper  waits  at  the  gate.  In 
this  we  see  that  our  high  priest  hath  the  pre-eminence — 
never  too  busy — never  unwilling — never  unable.  ''  He 
waits  that  he  may  be  gracious."  (Isa.  xxx.  18.)  Neither 
the  business  nor  the  bliss  of  heaven  will  detain  him  from 
a  wretched  soul.  He  who  in  the  days  of  his  flesh  forgot 
to  eat,  and   even  ceased  to  feel  faintness,  when  a  soul 

*  Malcom's  Travels  in  the  Burman  Empire. 


CHAPTER  XIV.  269 

stood  before  him  in  his  leprosy,  has  nothing  now  to  keep 
him  from  instant  compassion.  He  who  on  the  cross, 
under  the  dark  shade  of  the  approaching  cloud  of  wrath 
and  of  death,  heard  the  heaving  of  his  mother's  bosom 
and  the  rush  of  anguish  through  her  heart — has  nothing 
now  to  hinder  him  freely  to  direct  his  ever  ready  com- 
passions towards  the  coming  leper.  Even  as  this  is  true 
in  regard   to  those  already  come,    so  also   is  it  to  the 


commg. 


*'  Thy  risen  life  but  whets  thee  more 
For  kindlj  sympathy  ; 
Thy  love  unhindered  rests  upon 
Each  bruised  branch  in  thee." 

The  priest  directs  the  man  to  take  two  birds.  He  was 
thus  showing  him  a  surety's  death  and  resurrection. 
The  living  birds  must  be  "  clean'''  because  signifying  him 
who  is  spotless ;  and  are  brought  to  the  spot  "  alive." 
Beside  them  are — 1,  "  cedar-wood^''^  a  stalk  of  it  to  form 
the  handle  of  what  was  to  be  used  in  sprinkling  the 
blood ;  2,  ''  scarlety''^  i.  e.,  scarlet- wool,  as  Heb.  ix.  19  ; 
and  3,  "  hyssop ^^''  along  with  the  scarlet  wool.  The  wool 
and  hyssop  form  a  kind  of  sponge,  put  on  a  stalk  of  cedar. 
Some  say  (and  Abarbinel  has  explained  it  thus)  that  the 
cedar  indicates  undecaying,  enduring  vigor,  fit,  therefore, 
for  use  when  the  leper  is  to  be  restored  ;  the  scarlet  color 
indicates  the  expulsion  of  the  putrifying  humors  and  the 
restoration  of  the  blood  to  its  proper  redness — just  as  in 
Num.  xix.  16,  in  the  case  of  the  heifer  for  one  that 
touched  the  dead.  And  as  hyssop  is  somewhat  fragrant, 
it  is  supposed  to  show  the  opposite  of  the  decay  and  cor- 
ruption. But  while  all  this  is  involved,  still  the  chief 
intention  is  to  show  pollution  cleansed  away.  The  cedar 
intimated  the  reversal  of  decay  and  corruption,  and  being 


270  THE  LEPROSY  REMOVED. 

wood  of  which  they  had  none  in  the  desert,  but  must  get 
in  the  promised  land,  it  showed  the  man's  connection 
with  Israel's  blessing ;  while  the  hyssop^  used  so  often* 
in  bunches  for  sprinkling,  spoke  cleansing  as  directly  as 
the  scarlet  color  of  the  wool  did  of  the  blood  that  takes 
away  sin. 

Vers.  6,  6,  1.  "  And  the  priest  shall  command  that  one  of  the  birds 
be  killed  in  an  earthen  vessel  over  running  water :  as  for  the  living 
bird,  he  shall  take  it,  and  the  cedar  wood,  and  the  scarlet,  and  the 
hyssop,  and  shall  dip  them  and  the  living  bird  in  the  blood  of  the 
bird  that  was  killed  over  the  running  water :  and  he  shall  sprinkle 
upon  him  that  is  to  be  cleansed  from  the  leprosy  seven  times,  and 
shall  pronounce  him  clean,  and  shall  let  the  living  bird  loose  into 
the  open  field." 

The  method  of  a  sinner's  recovery  could  not  be  fully 
shown  forth  by  only  one  type.  Here,  therefore,  is  a  two- 
fold type — death  and  life  in  one.  "  Running-  water^^  is 
in  Hebrew  (Di'snn'i^a)  ^^  living  water,^^  i.  e.,  fresh  from 
a  running  stream,  in  opposition  to  the  stagnant  dead 
water  of  a  pool.  This  prefigured  one  who  was  to  have 
the  living  water,  which  is  ever-vital,  ever-fresh,  ever- 
sparkling  with  motion,  instead  of  the  stagnant,  dull,  lan- 
guid flow  of  leprous  blood.  Now,  the  cleansed  man  was 
to  be  legally  put  in  this  state,  by  these  rites  being  ap- 
plied to  him.  And  thus  it  is  with  the  sinner — brought 
into  a  state  of  life  and  vital  motion  when  the  cleansing 
has  been  applied  to  him. 

Notice,  then,  the  mode  of  cleansing.  We  see  one  held 
forth  in  these  symbols  who  was  to  possess  the  ever-living 

*  When  our  Lord  on  the  cross  saw  the  sponge  held  up  to  him  on  a 
stalk  of  hyssop,  or,  like  the  scarlet  wool  perhaps,  along  with  the  hyssop- 
branch,  it  would  call  to  mind  the  shadows  and  ceremonies  of  the  law.  His 
eye  was  on  this  shadow  when  he  cried,  "  It  is  finished."    (Johnxix.  29, 30.) 


CHAPTER  xiy.  271 

Divine  Spirit,  as  a  well  of  water  in  him.  This  is  the 
holy  nature  of  Jesus — the  fulness  of  the  Spirit  in  him. 
This  holy  nature  is  in  a  human  frame ;  the  Holy  Spirit 
dwelleth  in  him  "  bodily."  This  is  held  forth  by  the 
"  earthen  vesseV  (tr'in  '^ba)  into  which  the  living  water 
is  put.  Men  are  elsewhere  spoken  of  as  like  this  earthen 
vessel,  as  when  the  prophet  calls  them  "  i^^'^^t ''^a'ln" 
potsherds  of  earth ;  and  Paul,  in  describing  ministers, 
whom  he  calls  "  earthen  vessels,"  in  contrast  to  divine 
nature  and  power.     (2  Cor.  iv.  7.) 

The  first  bird,  bearing  the  uncleanness  of  the  leper,  is 
then  slain,  its  blood  dropping  into  the  clear,  living  water, 
over  which  it  is  slain.  Two  streams  now  meet — blood 
and  water  I  Satisfaction  for  a  broken  law  by  suffering 
even  unto  death ;  (the  stream  of  blood,  which  is  the  life  ;) 
and  obedience  rendered  by  a  holy,  unsinning  observance 
of  the  law  written  on  the  heart  (the  stream  of  pure 
water).  It  might  not  be  to  this  type  peculiarly  that 
John  referred,  but  certainly  it  was  to  some  such  symbols 
of  the  law,  when  he  called  us  to  notice  that,  when  the 
spear  pierced  the  side  of  Jesus  (John  xix.  34),  "then 
came  there  out  blood  and  water. '''^  The  Apostle  who  had 
said,  that  Jesus,  "  knowing  all  things  were  now  accom- 
plished, that  the  Scriptures  might  be  fulfilled,  said,  I 
thirst" — he  is  the  Apostle  who  records  the  circumstance 
of  the  hyssop  being  with  the  sponge,  and  who  tells  us  the 
cry,  "  It  is  finished.''^  It  is  he,  too,  who  quotes  the  refer- 
ence to  the  Paschal  Lamb,  "  a  bone  of  him  shall  not  be 
broken."  He  seems  to  call  our  attention  specially  to 
every  type  being  fulfilled  in  Jesus.  Hence,  I  suppose, 
he  considered,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit,  the  blood 
and  water  from  the  side  of  Jesus  to  be  a  circumstance 
that  indicated  him  as  the  fulfiller  in  his  own  person  of  all 


272  THE  LEPROSY  EEMOVED. 

that  these  symbols  set  forth  under  the  law.  And  so  in 
1  John  V.  6,  "  This  is  he  that  came  by  water  and  blood." 
He  points  to  Jesus  as  the  Righteous  One  who  came  not 
only  with  a  holy  nature  ("  water"),  but  also  in  order  to 
take  away  whatever  was  contrary  to  holiness  by  his 
atonement  ("  blood"),  summing  up  in  himself  the  figures 
of  the  law.* 

The  living  bird  was  then  to  be  brought  forward.  It 
was  to  be  dipt  in  the  blood  of  its  fellow,  and  also  in  the 
running'  luater^  ver.  51.  It  typified  the  Saviour,  after 
his  work  of  suffering,  on  the  resurrection  morning,  im- 
bued (so  to  speak)  with  the  blessed  virtue  that  had  come 
out  of  his  undertaking — bearing  both  the  satisfaction 
rendered  and  the  obedience  so  fully  given  to  the  last. 
The  living  bird,  perhaps  at  the  time  of  the  morning 
dawn,  is  thus  dipt  in  the  vessel,  and  then  flies  forth  free 
and  joyful  in  the  rays  of  a  glorious  sun.  How  beautiful 
the  type ;  Jesus  risen,  in  all  his  merit  of  death  and 
obedience,  basks  in  the  rays  of  his  Father's  well-pleased 
love !  And  then,  as  the  bird  in  its  gladness  would  light 
upon  some  palm,  and  gaze  around,  and  sing,  He  looks 
around  on  a  world  from  whose  imputed  guilt  he  is  for- 
ever free,  and  over  which  he  can  rest  in  his  love,  and 
"joy  with  singing."  (Zeph.  iii.  17.)  All  the  time,  the 
living  bird  has  the  marks  of  recent  death  upon  its  wings  ; 
and  so  the  Lamb  slain  bears  his  marks  in  heaven,  in  his 
Father's  very  presence. 

And  oh  I  how  precious  for  us  that  we  can  regard  all 
this  as  our  case,  too  !  Dipt  in  the  blood  of  the  Almighty's 
Fellow,  we  may  be  as  free  and  gladsome.     Reckoned  to 

*  Perhaps  this  constant  reference  to  types  will  best  explain  John  iii.  5, 
"  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit" — the  latter  being  exegetical  to  the  former. 
So  again,  xiii.  10,  in  allusion  to  the  priest  at  the  laver. 


CHAPTER  XIV.  273 

have  died,  we  may  also  rise,  with  him,  and  sing,  *'  bear- 
ing about  with  us  the  dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  We 
may  fly  over  the  open  field,  up  to  the  gates  of  heaven, — 
nay,  to  ''  thy  altars,  0  Lord  of  hosts,  my  King  and  my 
God." 

What  a  picture  for  a  leprous  man  to  regale  himself 
with  after  his  long,  sad,  lonely  days  !  What  a  reality  for 
a  sinner  justified  to  enter  upon  at  once  and  enjoy  !  "  He 
hath  put  a  new  song  in  my  mouth,  even  praise  unto  our 
G-od." 

Vers.  8,  9.  "  And  he  that  is  to  be  cleansed  shall  -wash  his  clothes,  and 
shave  off  all  his  hair,  and  wash  himself  in  water,  that  he  may  be 
clean :  and  after  that  he  shall  come  into  the  camp,  and  shall  tarry 
abroad  out  of  his  tent  seven  days.  But  it  shall  be  on  the  seventh  day, 
that  he  shall  shave  all  his  hair  off  his  head  and  his  beard  and  his 
eyebrows,  even  all  his  hair  he  shall  shave  off:  and  he  shall  wash 
his  clothes,  also  he  shall  wash  his  flesh  in  water,  and  he  shall  be 
clean." 

Being  now  brought  into  the  state  of  acceptance,  one 
thing  only  remains,  viz.,  his  former  habits  of  life  and 
conduct  must  of  course  be  altered,  and  then  he  is  i'eady 
to  join  the  happy  congregation.  This  is  typified  by  the 
man  washing  his  clothes  and  body,  that  is,  all  outward, 
external  things ;  and  shaving  off*  his  hair,  or,  removing 
all  about  him  where  old  corruption  might  be  still  lurkino". 
This  done,  he  may  enter  the  camp,  mingle  with  its  inhab- 
itants, partake  in  the  shadow  of  its  pillar-cloud,  join  in 
its  worship,  and  help  to  swell  its  notes  of  praise.  A 
justified  man  is  at  once  joined  to  the  saints  on  earth : 
converted  Paul  is  taken  by  Barnabas  dnd  led  to  the  com- 
pany of  saints,  who  at  first  shrank  from  the  once  leprous 
man.  Still,  as  the  cleansed  leper  was  not  to  enter  his 
tent  for  seven  days  more,  so  no  justified  man  enters  on 
his  rest^  or  finds  his  final  settlement  here,  till  his  seven 

12* 


274  THE  LEPEOSY  REMOVED. 

days  are  ended — his  state  of  waiting  here.  But  each 
saint  is  thoroughly  cleansed ;  and  so  the  whole  Church, 
at  the  Lord's  coming,  which  is  the  end  of  the  time  ap- 
pointed— the  seven  days — the  complete  time  in  the  Lord's 
view.  This  may  be  said,  in  some  degree,  of  each  saint 
at  death ;  but  it  is  specially  at  the  Lord's  coming  that 
all  his  privileges  begin,  and  all  his  wants  are  satisfied. 
The  very  "  eyebrows'^''  are  shaved  oif  now  (ver.  7) — not 
even  the  possibility  left  of  any  lurking-place  for  pollution ; 
and  his  whole  person  and  all  his  external  circumstances 
undergo  their  final  and  complete  purification. 

He  is  all  clean  now — "all  fair;  there  is  no  spot  in 
thee."  He  can  join  the  w^orship  fully,  and  can  claim  his 
own  dwelling  among  the  thousands  of  Israel. 

Vers.  10,  11.  "  And  on  the  eighth  day  he  shall  take  two  he-lambs 
without  blemish,  and  one  ewe-lamb  of  the  first  year  without  blemish, 
and  three  tenth-deals  of  fine  flour  for  a  meat-oifering,  mingled  with 
oil,  and  one  log  of  oil.  And  the  priest  that  maketh  him  clean  shall 
present  the  man  that  is  to  be  made  clean,  and  those  things,  before 
the  Lord,  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation." 

To  show  that  now  he  is  entirely  free,  the  man  is  to 
bring  all  manner  of  sacrifices ;  and  each  is  accepted  for 
him.  He  brings  one  he-la7nb  for  a  trespass-offering, 
another  for  a  sin-offering — both  without  blemish,  accord- 
ing to  the  usual  manner.  Also,  a  ewe-lamb,  yet  tender, 
"  of  the  first  year,"  to  be  for  a  burnt-offering.  The 
strength  of  the  two  previous  victims,  and  the  tenderness 
of  this  one,  are  happily  blended ;  and  these  three  sacri- 
fices sum  up  all  the  general  offerings  of  a  man  of  Israel. 
Then,  the  three  tenth-deals  of  flour  are  the  meat-offering 
for  each  sacrifice,  one  tenth-deal  for  each  (compare  ver. 
21)  of  the  finest  flour  of  the  land,  and  mingled  with  oil, 
to  show  that  it  is  set  apart.     Besides,  there  is  a  log  of 


CHAPTER  XIV.  275 

oil  (a  half-pint)  set  by  itself  in  a  vessel,  to  be  poured  on 
the  head  of  the  once  leprous  man,  that  he  may  be  pub- 
licly received  as  an  acknowledged  Israelite,  set  apart  for 
God.  Once  the  man  was  set  apart  from  his  fellows  ;  but 
now  every  proof  of  acceptance  is  heaped  upon  him.  And 
all  is  done  by  the  priest,  that  so  it  may  be  authoritatively 
done.  To  all  this  Christ  refers  in  Matt.  viii.  4,  Mark  i. 
44,  and  Luke  v.  14.  "  Gro,  show  thyself  to  the  priest, 
and  offer  for  thy  cleansing  according  as  Moses  command- 
ed,^ for  a  testimony  unto  them." 

These  rites  on  the  eighth  day  were  meant  to  testify,  in 
the  most  complete  way,  that  the  leprous  man  was  ac- 
knowledged to  be  fully  clean.  Just  as  the  whole  Church, 
and  each  member  of  it,  on  the  day  when  Christ  appears 
to  those  who  wait  for  him,  shall  be  declared  to  be  alto- 
gether clean,  receiving  the  antitype  of  every  gift  and 
offering,  and  presented  as  set  apart  forever  to  Jehovah. 

Vers.  12,  13,  14,  15,  16,  11,  18,  19,  20.  "  And  the  priest  shall  take  one 
he-lamb,  and  offer  him  for  a  trespass-offering,  and  the  log  of  oil,  and 
wave  them  for  a  wave-offering  before  the  Lord :  and  he  shall  slay 
the  lamb  in  the  place  where  he  shall  kill  the  sin-offering  and  the 
burnt-offering,  in  the  holy  place :  for  as  the  sin-offering  is  the 
priest's,  so  is  the  trespass-offering  ;  it  is  most  holy.  And  the  priest 
shall  take  some  of  the  blood  of  the  trespass-offering,  and  the  priest 
shall  put  it  upon  the  tip  of  the  right  ear  of  him  that  is  to  be  cleans- 
ed, and  upon  the  thumb  of  his  right  hand,  and  upon  the  great  toe 
of  his  right  foot :  and  the  priest  shall  take  some  of  the  log  of  oil, 
and  pour  it  into  the  palm  of  his  own  left  hand :  and  the  priest  shall 
dip  his  right  finger  in  the  oil  that  is  in  his  left  hand,  and  shall 
sprinkle  of  the  oil  with  his  fingers  seven  times  before  the  Lord :  and 
of  the  rest  of  the  oil  that  is  in  his  hand  shall  the  priest  put  upon  the 
tip  of  the  right  ear  of  him  that  is  to  be  cleansed,  and  upon  the  thumb 

*  Li  Matt.  viii.  4,  "  Offer  thy  gift,"  the  sacrifices  of  the  eighth  day  may 
be  specially  meant.  And  Jesus  dehghted  in  the  exhibition  of  those  types 
that  showed  forth  his  death  and  resurrection. 


276  THE  LEPEOSY  REMOVED. 

of  his  right  hand,  and  upon  the  great  toe  of  his  right  foot,  upon  the 
blood  of  the  trespass- offering ;  and  the  remnant  of  the  oil  that  is  in 
the  priest's  hands  he  shall  pour  upon  the  head  of  him  that  is  to  be 
cleansed :  and  the  priest  shall  make  an  atonement  for  him  before 
the  Lord.  And  the  priest  shall  offer  the  sin-offering,  and  make  an 
atonement  for  him  that  is  to  be  cleansed  from  his  uncleanness ;  and 
afterward  he  shall  kill  the  burnt-offering.  And  the  priest  shall  offer 
the  burnt-offering  and  the  meat-offering  upon  the  altar ;  and  the 
priest  shall  make  an  atonement  for  him,  and  he  shall  be  clean." 

The  priest  slays  the  he-lamb  "  in  the  holy  place  ;"  that 
is,  in  the  consecrated  courts,  and  on  the  very  spots  where 
the  sin-offering  is  slain.  The  place  is  called  "  holy,"  if 
holy  acts  are  done  there  ;  even  as  heaven  is  holy  because 
every  act  done  there  is  by  holy  worshippers,  and  in  a 
holy,  holy  manner. 

The  priest's  waving  the  trespass-offering  and  the  log 
of  oil,  intimated  that  this  offering  for  the  leper  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Lord,  and  his  dedication  to  the  Lord  anew 
(the  oil  showed  dedication),  and  seemed  to  say,  first, 
^^  Against  thee,  thee  only  have  I  simied  f^  and  then, 
"  Lord,  truly  I  am  thy  servant,  I  am  thy  servant  and  the 
son  of  thy  handmaid." 

Some  of  the  blood  of  this  offering  is  put  on  the  man's 
right  ear  ;  as  if  to  say,  "  Thou  art  cleansed  ;  go  and  hear 
in  the  camp  the  joyful  sound."  Some  is  put  on  the 
thumb  of  his  right  hand,  as  if  to  say,  "  Thou  art  cleans- 
ed ;  use  thy  clean  hands  for  Grod's  work."  Some  is  put 
upon  the  great  toe  of  his  right  foot,  as  if  to  say,  "  Thou 
art  cleansed;  walk  in  the  Lord's  ways;  go  up  to  his 
courts,  and  ever  walk  before  him  in  the  land  of  the 
living." 

Some  of  the  oil  is  then  taken  from  the  log.*  And 
fir^t,  it  is  sprinkled  before  the  veil  seven   times.     Now, 

*  A  log  contained  half  a  pint  of  our  measure. 


CHAPTER   XIV.  277 

as  in  the  case  of  blood  so  sprinkled,  the  meaning  was 
that  by  this  blood-sprinkled  way  the  sinner  had  boldness 
to  enter  the  holiest ;  so,  by  this  oil  thus  spread  on  the 
same  spot,  there  is  a  declaration  to  the  effect  that  the  man, 
the  leper,  now  cleansed,  offers  himself  as  a  consecrated 
one  to  serve  the  Lord  who  dwells  within  that  veil. 

The  oil  is  put  on  the  man's  ear,  as  if  to  say,  "  Lord, 
I  will  hear  for  thee," — and  on  his  right  hand,  as  if  to  say, 
*'  Lord,  I  will  act  for  thee," — and  on  his  right  foot,  as  if 
to  say,  "  Lord,  I  will  go  up  and  down,  to  and  fro,  for 
thee."  He  then  pours  all  that  remains  on  his  head  (ver. 
18),  that  as  it  ran  down  in  copious  streams  over  all  his 
person,  he  might  hear  every  drop  cry,  •'  Thou  art  his 
that  saves  thee." 

And  inasmuch  as  the  oil  was  to  be  put  upon  the  blood 
of  the  trespass-offering,  there  was  implied  the  glorious 
truth,  that  the  blood  which  cleanses  also  sanctifies.  If 
you  are  forgiven,  you  are  not  your  own.  If  the  price  is 
paid  for  you,  you  are  now  the  Lord's  ;  he  bought  you. 
If  pardoned  by  Jesus,  then  you  are  inhabited  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Jesus  cleansed  away  the  guilt  that  there  might 
be  a  fair  tablet  on  which  the  Spirit  might  re- write  his 
holy  law.  If  freed  from  guilt  and  Satan,  you  are  handed 
over  to  the  Lord  to  serve  him  in  holiness  and  righteous- 
ness. 

This  being  done,  and  atonement  made  by  the  trespass- 
offering  (ver.  19),  the  priest  shall  offer  the  sin-ofTering, 
and  then  the  burnt-offering  also.  Some  think  this  the 
i'dwgov^^^  meant  in  Matt.  viii.  4,  "  The  gift  that  Moses 
commanded."  Thus,  he  is  assured  of  acceptance  by 
every  kind  of  offering ;  and  is  sent  home  rejoicing.  '*  He 
shall  be  clean^ 


278  THE   LEPROSY  REMOVED. 

THE    POOR    LEPER. 

Vers,  21,  22,  28,  24,  25,  26,  27,  28,  29,  30,  31,  32.  "And  if  he  be 
poor,  and  cannot  get  so  much;  then  he  shall  take  one  lamb  for  a 
trespass-offering  to  be  waved,  to  make  an  atonement  for  him,  and 
one  tenth-deal  of  fine  flour  mingled  with  oil  for  a  meat-offering, 
and  a  log  of  oil ;  and  two  turtle-doves,  or  two  young  pigeons,  such 
as  he  is  able  to  get ;  and  the  one  shall  be  a  sin-offering,  and  the 
other  a  burnt-oflfering.  And  he  shall  bring  them  on  the  eighth  day, 
for  his  cleansing,  unto  the  priest,  unto  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of 
the  congregation,  before  the  Lord.  And  the  priest  shall  take  the 
lamb  of  the  trespass-offering,  and  the  log  of  oil,  and  the  priest 
shall  wave  them  for  a  wave-offering  before  the  Lord.  And  he  shall 
kill  the  lamb  of  the  trespass  offering,  and  the  priest  shall  take  some 
of  the  blood  of  the  trespass-offering,  and  put  it  upon  the  tip  of  the 
right  ear  of  him  that  is  to  be  cleansed,  and  upon  the  thumb  of  his 
right  hand,  and  upon  the  great  toe  of  his  right  foot :  and  the  priest 
shall  pour  of  the  oil  into  the  palm  of  his  own  left  hand :  and  the 
priest  shall  sprinkle  with  his  right  finger  some  of  the  oil  that  is 
in  his  left  hand  seven  times  before  the  Lord :  and  the  priest  shall 
put  of  the  oil  that  is  in  his  hand  upon  the  tip  of  the  right  ear  of 
him  that  is  to  be  cleansed,  and  upon  the  thumb  of  his  right  hand, 
and  upon  the  great  toe  of  his  right  foot,  upon  the  place  of  the  blood 
of  the  trespass-offering:  and  the  rest  of  the  oil  that  is  in  the  priest's 
hand  he  shall  put  upon  the  head  of  him  that  is  to  be  cleansed,  to 
make  an  atonement  for  him  before  the  Lord.  And  he  shall  offer 
the  one  of  the  turtle-doves,  or  of  the  young  pigeons,  such  as  he 
can  get ;  even  such  as  he  is  able  to  get,  the  one  for  a  sin-offering, 
and  the  other  for  a  burnt-offering,  with  the  meat-offering  :  and  the 
priest  shall  make  an  atonement  for  him  that  is  to  be  cleansed  before 
the  Lord.  This  is  the  law  of  him  in  whom  is  the  plague  of  leprosy, 
whose  hand  is  not  able  to  get  that  which  pertaineth  to  his  cleansing." 

All  these  minute  directions  are  in  behalf  of  the  poor 
leper.  Similar  provision  was  made  for  the  poor^  in  chaps, 
i.,  ii.,  and  v.  He  may  substitute  one  he-lamb  and  two 
turtle-doves,  putting  his  special  sin  on  the  lamb^  by  mak- 
ing it  a  trespass-offering,  and  then  using  one  of  the  doves 
for  a  sin-offering,  and  the  other  for  a  burnt-offering. 
Probably,  the  Lord  was  pleased  with  this  arrangement  for 


CHAPTER  XIV.  279 

another  reason,  viz.,  it  gave  occasion  to  the  more  frequent 
display  of  Jesus  as  the  dove — the  holy,  harmless,  unde- 
filed  One,  made  sin  for  us.  And  it  is  beautiful  to  observe 
how  the  exigencies  of  his  creatures,  instead  of  puzzling 
Divine  wisdom,  call  forth  a  display  of  h  is  resources,  and 
furnish  opportunities  for  manifesting  his  love. 

The  directions  as  to  the  case  of  the  poor  man  are  quite 
as  special  as  in  the  case  of  any  other.  The  Lord  would 
thus  assure  him  of  his  care — that  he  feels  for  him  the 
same  deep  interest  as  for  others  in  his  state,  and  brings 
the  same  atonement  to  his  hand.  And  the  words  of  ver. 
32  are  a  special  clause  to  prevent  any  man  overlooking 
this  provision  for  the  poor.  For  men  will  despise  and 
overlook  those  whom  the  Lord  regards  and  remembers. 
Surely  here  is  the  heart  of  the  same  Father^  who  anoint- 
ed Jesus  to  preach  glad  tidings  "  to  the  poor ;"  and  the 
heart  of  the  same  Spirit^  who  was  himself  the  oil  that 
so  anointed  Jesus  for  declaring  his  message  "  to  the  poor  ;" 
and  the  heart  of  the  same  Son  of  man^  who  was  thus 
set  apart  by  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Spirit  to  proclaim 
tidings  of  great  joy  "  to  the  poor."  Is  not  Jesus  standing 
here  to-day,  and  saying,  "  Go,  and  tell  John  what  things 
ye  have  seen  and  heard;  to  the  poor  the  Gospel  is 
preached?''''  Tell  my  disconsolate,  dejected  ones,  "  To 
the  poor  is  the  Gospel  praachedP  Their  God  selects 
the  saddest  case  for  the  discovery  of  his  fairest  skill  and 
purest  grace.  "  This  is  the  law  for  him  whose  hand  is 
not  able  to  get.''''  Oh !  words  of  grace  !  ''  Glory  to  God 
in  the  highest — peace  on  earth — good- will  to  man !" 

THE    LEPROUS    HOUSE. 

Vers.  33,  34.     "  And   the  Lord   spake   unto  Moses  and   unto  Aaron, 
saying,  When  ye  be  come  into  the  land  of  Canaan,  which  I  give  to 


280  THE   LEPROSY   REMOVED. 

you  for  a  possession,  and  I  put  the  plague  of  leprosy  in  a  house  of 
the  land  of  your  possession." 

To  teach  that  this  earth  is  under  a  curse,  God  sent 
this  leprosy  on  houses  ;  just  as  to  teach  that  men  are 
under  a  curse  he  sent  leprosy  in  their  bodies.  This 
plague  on  houses  may  have  been  something  like  what 
Michaelis  calls  "  saltpetre^  or  mural  salt^^''  an  efflores- 
cence or  incrustation  on  walls  of  damp  cellars.^^'  The 
walls  become  mouldy,  and  at  last  give  way.  It  may, 
however,  have  been  some  special  infliction  in  these  times  ; 
and  the  name  was  given,  as  Bush  remarks,  on  the  same 
principle  that  Easterns  call  certain  diseases  in  trees 
''  leprosy  in  trees^''  and  the  Swiss  call  some  disorders  in 
buildings  "  cancer  in  huildingsP  In  Israel  it  may  have 
been  sent  on  special  occasions,  where  the  owner  of  the 
house  was  too  much  engrossed  with  his  pleasant  dwelling. 
Jewish  writers  say,  it  was  as  if  the  beam  of  the  house 
had  cried  to  the  inhabitants,  "  Turn  to  the  Lord  thy 
Gody  It  made  the  person  suspect  evil  from  the  Lord, 
"  our  dwellings  have  cast  us  out."  It  came  like  a  family 
affliction,  saying,  ''  This  is  not  your  rest,  because  it  is 
polluted."  "We  must  look  for  the  New  Earth  wherein 
dwelleth  righteousness. 

Vers.  35,  86,  37,  38.  "And  he  that  owneththe  house  shall  come,  and 
tell  the  priest,  saying.  It  seeraeth  to  me  there  is  as  it  were  a  plague 
in  the  house ;  then  the  priest  shall  command  that  they  empty  the 
house,  before  the  priest  go  into  it  to  see  the  plague,  that  all  that 
is  in  the  house  be  not  made  unclean ;  and  afterwards  the  priest 
shall  go  in  to  see  the  house  :  and  he  shall  look  on  the  plague,  and, 
behold,  if  the  plague  be  in  the  walls  of  the  house  with  hollow 
strakes,  greenish  or  reddish,  which  in  sight  are  lower  than  the  wall ; 
then  the  priest  shall  go  out  of  the  house  to  the  door  of  the  house, 
and  shut  up  the  house  seven  days." 

*  Jahn  calls  it  a "  nitrous  acor,"  that  wastes  away  the  stone. 


CHAPTER  XIV.  281 

The  owner  of  the  house  is  to  tell.  It  is  the  head  of 
the  family  that  is  to  be  on  the  watch  at  all  times,  m 
regard  to  whatever  takes  place  in  his  house.  Upon  him 
rests  the  authority,  and  so  also  the  responsibility. 

Preparation  is  made  for  the  priest's  coming,  by  remov- 
ing every  thing  that  might  impede  examination.  The 
furniture  is  taken  out,  that  nothing  may  be  between 
the  priest  and  the  walls  he  is  to  scrutinize.  Just  as,  in 
the  case  of  searching  our  hearts,  or  self-examination, 
fasting  removes  from  us  all  intervening  objects,  and 
leaves  the  eye  nothing  to  rest  upon  but  only  the  bare 
walls  of  the  chambers  of  imagery. 

But  God  judges  truly  and  righteously  ;  and  his  deci- 
sions are  deliberate  and  well-weighed.  It  is  this  delibe- 
rate decision  that  renders  his  judgments  so  terrible. 
Here  we  find  the  priest  examining  ;  and  if  the  plague 
appear  in  the  form  of  "  holloivs,^^^  that  are  deeper  than 
the  surface  of  the  wall,  then  there  is  room  for  suspicion, 
but  there  is  also  time  given  for  further  development.  It 
is  to  be  left  on  trial  for  seven  days.t  It  is  to  be  an  em- 
blem of  this  earth's  state  and  condition,  exhibiting  all 
the  symptoms  of  decay  and  pollution,  yet  left  for  a  season 
to  develop  its  symptoms,  and  to  prove  undeniably  its 
state  of  decay.  Its  wines  tempt  men  to  intemperance  ; 
its  beautiful  groves  hide  the  idolater's  licentiousness ;  its 
gold  and  silver  tempt  thousands  to  acts  of  violence  and 
fraud.  Every  object  of  beauty  draws  off  some  man's 
heart  from  Grod. 

*  K"l!TH5?p^  means  "  low  lying."  The  Septuagint  has  "  KotXaScg ;"  the 
Vulgate,  "  valliculas."  Hence  Bush  renders  it  "  depressed  cavities^  The 
appearance  was  hollow  spots ;  pitted. 

\  The  Septuagint  use  the  expression,  "  d<popui  tj]v  oimav"  Some  quote 
Isa.  xxiv.  10,  as  illustrated  by  this.  The  city,  like  a  city  of  leprosy,  "  every 
house  is  shut  tip,  that  no  man  may  come  in" 


282  THE  LEPROSY  REMOVED. 

Vers.  39,  40,  41,  42.  "And  the  priest  shall  come  again  the  seventh 
day,  and  shall  look ;  and,  behold,  if  the  plague  be  spread  in  the 
walls  of  the  house ;  then  the  priest  shall  command  that  they  take 
away  the  stones  in  which  the  plague  is,  and  they  shall  cast  them  into 
an  unclean  place  without  the  city  :  and  he  shall  cause  the  house  to 
be  scraped  within  round  about,  and  they  shall  pour  out  the  dust 
that  they  scrape  off  without  the  city  into  an  unclean  place ;  and 
they  shall  take  other  stones,  and  put  them  in  the  place  of  those 
stones ;  and  he  shall  take  other  mortar,  and  shall  plaster  the  house," 

The  removing  of  the  decaying,  infected  stones  seems 
to  typify  such  an  event  as  that  of  sweeping  earth's  sur- 
face by  the  flood,  and  then  ornamenting  it  anew  by  a 
fresh  covering  of  verdure,  and  estabUshing  it  anew  by  a 
new  arrangement  of  its  rivers  and  hills,  while  the  old 
''  plaster"  and  the  "  scrapings  of  the  house"  were  carried 
out  of  sight.  They  are  carried  to  an  ''  unclean  place''' — 
for  there  is  here  no  application  of  atonement ;  all  is  de- 
struction. 

The  decayed  stones  are  quite  removed  ;  so,  the  palaces, 
the  gardens,  the  cities,  the  temples  of  the  antediluvian 
world  were  entirely  swept  off.  But  then,  besides  this, 
the  whole  surface  is  scraped,  and  plastered  afresh ;  even 
as  every  part  of  earth's  surface  was  visited,  and  its  former 
aspect  retouched.  This  done,  earth  was  left  once  more, 
by  its  Priest  and  Judge, ^  for  further  trial.  Its  groves 
and  forests  wave  again  in  strength  and  greenness ;  its 
fields  yield  their  fruit ;  its  orchards  hang  out  their  heavy- 
laden  branches  ;  its  pastures  are  clothed  with  flocks.  Is 
the  plague  stayed  ?  Shall  earth  ever  again  exhibit  cor- 
ruption like  the  former  ?  The  Lord  sits  on  his  throne, 
and  waits  to  see. 

*  There  was  much  of  the  judicial  character  in  the  priest ;  that  is,  he 
judged  much  in  regard  to  all  ceremonial  affairs,  and  all  sanctuary  laws. 
Hence,  in  Isaiah  xxxiii.  22,  "  The  Lord  is  our  Judge"  seems  to  refer  to  the 
priestly  office  judging  in  holy  things. 


CHAPTER  XIY.  283 

Vers.  43,  44,  45.  "  And  if  the  plague  come  again,  and  break  out  in  the 
house,  after  that  he  hath  taken  away  the  stones,  and  after  he  hath 
scraped  the  house,  and  after  it  is  plastered ;  then  the  priest  shall 
come  and  look,  and,  behold,  if  the  plague  be  spread  in  the  house,  it 
is  a  fretting  leprosy  in  the  house :  it  is  unclean.  And  he  shall  break 
down  the  house,  the  stones  of  it,  and  the  timber  thereof,  and  all  the 
mortar  of  the  house ;  and  he  shall  carry  them  forth  out  of  the  city, 
into  an  unclean  place." 

If,  amidst  earth's  restored  beauty — when  its  wide 
regions  are  again  blooming  with  all  their  former  produce, 
and  the  sky  over  them  is  serene  as  before,  with  its  rain- 
bow spanning  all  below — if,  then,  corruption  burst  forth 
again,  there  will  be  here  proof  of  deep,  inveterate  disease. 
In  anticipation  of  this  result,  the  Lord  said,  "I  will  not 
again  curse  the  ground  any  more  for  man's  sake  ;  for  the 
imagination  of  man's  heart  is  evil  from  his  youth."  (Gren. 
viii.  21.)  The  same  remedy  shall  never  be  tried  a  second 
time.  But  now,  there  shall  be  a  removal  of  the  old 
materials.  The  house  must  be  broken  down — stones, 
timber,  and  mortar — and  all  swept  away.  "  The  earth 
and  the  works  therein  shall  be  burnt  up."  "  All  these 
things  shall  be  dissolved,"  says  Peter.  (2  Peter  iii.  11.) 
There  must  be  a  new  building  raised  on  the  same  spot — 
"  a  new  earth."  It  is  the  priest  himself  that  removes  the 
old  building ;  it  is  Jesus  that  comes  to  say,  "  Behold,  I 
make  all  things  new." 

Vers.  46,  47.  "  Moreover,  he  that  goef h  into  the  house,  all  the  while 
that  it  is  shut  up,  shall  be  unclean  until  the  even..  !And  he  that 
lieth  in  the  house  shall  wash  liis  clothes  ;  and  he  that  eateth  in  the 
house  shall  wash  his  clothes." 

xA-uy  one  going  into  the  shut-up  house  for  .any  of  his 
stuff  is  unclean  for  a  day.  If  one  go  to  sleep  there,  even 
in  order  to  escape  the  dews  of  the  night,  or  go  to  eat 


284  THE   LEPEOSY  EEMOVED. 

there,  to  escape  the  burning  sun,  that  man  must  wash 
his  clothes,  as  well  as  be  reckoned  unclean.  It  shows  us 
that  there  is  woe  befallen  us,  by  the  very  circumstance 
of  our  being  on  this  earth  that  is  under  a  curse,  even  if 
we  ourselves  were  holy.  For  it  is  not  a  holy  place — the 
Lord's  curse  has  been  spread  over  it.  There  must  be 
blessing  on  our  dwelling  and  on  our  possessions,  if  we  are 
to  enjoy  all  in  true  peace.  But  there  is  a  secret  tendency 
in  all  earthly  things,  at  present,  to  provoke  indulgence  in 
sin,  as  if  a  secret  poison  were  pervading  all  nature. 
Hence,  even  our  meat  and  drink  so  draw  down  the  soul, 
that  we  need  to  fast,  if  we  would  be  quite  free  from  the 
influence  of  even  lawful  thins^s. 

Vers.  48,  49,  50,  51,  52,  53.  "And  if  the  priest  shall  come  in,  and  look 
upon  it,  and,  behold,  the  plague  hath  not  spread  in  the  house,  after 
the  house  was  plastered;  then  the  priest  shall  pronounce  the  house 
clean,  because  the  plague  is  healed.  And  he  shall  take  to  cleanse 
the  house  two  birds,  and  cedar  wood,  and  scarlet,  and  hyssop  :  and 
he  shall  kill  the  one  of  the  birds  in  an  earthen  vessel  over  running 
water  ;  and  he  shall  take  the  cedar  wood,  and  the  hyssop,  and  the 
scarlet,  and  the  living  bird,  and  dip  them  in  the  blood  of  the  slain 
bird,  and  in  the  running  water,  and  sprinkle  the  house  seven  times: 
and  he  shall  cleanse  the  house  with  the  blood  of  the  bird,  and  with 
the  running  water,  and  with  the  living  bird,  and  with  the  cedar 
wood,  and  with  the  hyssop,  and  with  the  scarlet:  but  he  shall  let 
go  the  living  bird  out  of  the  city  into  the  open  fields,  and  make  aa 
atonement  for  the  house :  and  it  shall  be  clean." 

This  case  of  the  plague  arrested  in  its  course,  repre- 
sents a  case  like  that  of  Job  v.  24,  "  Thou  shalt  know 
that  thy  tabernacle  shall  be  in  peace  ;  and  thou  shalt  visit 
thy  habitation  and  shalt  not  sin.^^  The  house  is  purified 
after  the  leprosy  is  arrested ;  and  it  is  purified  by  the 
very  same  means  as  the  leper  himself  was  purified. 
There  is  the  same  blood,  the  same  sprinkling,  the  same 
running,  or  fresh,  water,  and  the  same  type  of  resurrec- 


CHAPTER  xiy.  285 

tion  exhibited  in  the  live  bird.  Probably,  we  are  taught 
by  this  case,  that  during  the  days  wherein  earth  remains, 
since  the  removal  of  the  infected  stones  by  the  great 
visitation  of  it  at  the  flood — during  the  days  of  "  the 
earth  that  now  is"  (2  Pet.  iii.  7) — a  believer  may  enjoy 
his  dwelling  in  peace  and  safety,  free  from  all  share  in 
the  curse,  by  means  of  the  same  atonement  that  gave  him 
pardon.  His  dwelling  and  property  may  be  purified  for 
his  use  by  the  glorious  redemption  that  so  purified  his 
soul.  Our  dwellings  are  set  apart  as  well  as  ourselves. 
The  curse  on  them  is  arrested.  They  are  clean.  The 
priest  does  all  this  for  us ;  Jesus,  by  his  glorious  work, 
secures  that  "  all  things  shall  be  ours." 

The  concluding  ceremony  must  have  been  very  strik- 
ing. The  living  bird  was  carried  through  every  apart- 
ment of  the  dwelling,  and  then  at  some  open  window,  or 
from  the  flat  roof  of  the  house,  allowed  to  fly  at  liberty. 
The  inhabitant  would  thus  often  afterwards,  as  he  sat  in 
his  dwelling,  remember  the  concluding  act  of  cleansing. 
He  would  remember  the  cheerful  song  of  the  bird  set  free, 
and  its  joyful  flight  through  the  sky,  while  drops  of  the 
living  water  fell ;  and  the  marks  of  his  fellow's  blood 
were  observed  as  it  shook  its  wings.  It  is  thus  a  believ- 
ing soul  feels.  He  remembers  Christ's  resurrection  as 
the  concluding  act  that  completed  cleansing ;  he  remem- 
bers Christ's  joy  on  the  resurrection  morning — his  words, 
"  All  hail,"  and  "  Peace  be  unto  you,"  and  he  remembers 
the  freedom  with  which  he  traversed  the  heavens,  even 
the  heaven  of  heavens,  returning  to  his  Father's  bosom 
still  bearing  the  marks  of  the  nails  and  spear,  and  shed- 
ding down  the  purchased  Spirit.  This,  this  is  truly  the 
source  of  all  our  peace  from  sin  within  us,  from  sin  in 
those  around  us,  from  sin  on  the  earth  that  lies  under  a 


286  THE   LEPROSY  REMOVED. 

curse — from  leprosy  in  our  persons,  our  garments,  and  our 
dwellings. 

"  Bless  the  Lord,  0  my  soul,  and  forget  not  all  his 
benefits,  who  forgiveth  all  thine  iniquities,  who  healeth 
all  thy  diseases !"  We  must  sit  at  the  window  of  our 
purified  dwelling,  and  with  cleansed  soul  and  anointed 
eye  look  out  for  the  Return  of  the  priest  who  has  brought 
us  such  blessings.  Shall  we  not  rejoice  at  the  sound  of 
the  tread  of  his  footstep  ?  Shall  we  not  welcome  the  very 
rumor  of  his  coming  this  way  again  ?  Shall  the  first 
sight  of  his  form  not  fill  us  with  holy  gratitude  ?  In  the 
mean  time,  let  our  dwellings  resound  with  the  melody  of 
"  rejoicing  and  salvation"  (Ps.  cxviii.  15),  and  in  our 
out-goings  let  us  sing,  ''  I  shall  not  die,  but  live,  and 
shall  declare  the  works  of  the  Lord.  The  Lord  hath 
chastened  me  sore,  but  not  given  me  over  unto  death." 

CONCLUSION  OF  THE  LAW  OF  LEPROSY. 

Vers.  54,  55,  56,  51.  "This  is  the  law  for  all  manner  of  plague  of 
leprosy,  and  scall,  and  for  the  leprosy  of  a  garment,  and  of  a  house, 
and  for  a  rising,  and  for  a  scab,  and  for  a  bright  spot ;  to  teach 
when  it  is  unclean,  and  when  it  is  clean :  this  is  the  law  of  leprosy." 

In  ver.  57,  the  literal  rendering  is,  '^  To  teach  in  the 
day  of  the  unclean  and  in  the  day  of  the  clean  ;"  mean- 
ing, to  instruct  us  regarding  what  is  right  to  be  done  at 
seasons  when  things  are  unclean,  and  what  is  right  to  be 
done  when  they  are  clean.  The  Lord  keeps  ever  before 
us  the  solemn  truth  that  we  are  in  a  world  of  sin,  moving 
amid  evil ;  and  he  is  the  same  Jehovah  who  prayed  "  not 
that  thou  shouldest  take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  that 
thou  shouldest  keep  them  from  the  evil."  (John  xvii.  15.) 
He  leads  his  people  through  the  same  wilderness,  then 
and  now — through  the  same  Pted  Sea  and  Jordan.     He 


CHAPTER  XIV.  287 

does  not  dry  up  tlie  waters,  but  makes  his  own  pass  be- 
tween their  overhanging  walls. 

That  this  is  a  summary  of  the  preceding  chapters  ap- 
pears clear  if  we  notice  that  mention  is  made  first  gene- 
rally, ver.  54,  "  of  leprosy  and  scallP  Then,  the  leprosy 
is  subdivided  in  ver.  b^  into  "  leprosy^''  in  a  man,  gar- 
ment, or  house.  Lastly,  ver.  ^Q^  "  scaW  is  subdivided 
into  rising,  scab,  or  bright  spot. 

However  various  the  symptoms  and  forms,  yet  the  dis- 
cerning priest  observes  all,  and  pronounces  righteous 
judgment  "  in  the  day  of  the  clean  and  of  the  unclean." 
There  is  a  time  and  season  when  sin  of  any  shape  and 
aspect  appears  before  him ;  and  the  laiv  decides  unerr- 
ingly on  each  case.  "  Behold,"  he  says  to  us,  "  I  come 
quickly — he  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust  still:  and 
he  that  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still :  and  he  that  is 
righteous,  let  him  be  righteous  still :  and  he  that  is  holy, 
let  him  be  holy  still."  As  of  old,  to  Israel  (Mai.  iii.  18), 
who  asked,  "  What  profit  is  it  that  we  keep  his  ordi- 
nance ?"  he  said,  "  Then  shall  ye  return  and  discern  be- 
tween the  righteous  and  the  wicked ;  between  him  that 
serveth  God  and  him  that  serveth  him  not." 


THE 


mtl  /Intn  nf  Ira  frnm  tjit  ]Miml  ^M, 


TYPIFIED  IN  THE  RUNNING  ISSUE. 


"  I  KNOW  THAT  IN  ME,  THAT  IS,  IN  MY  FLESH,  DWELLETH  NO  GOOD  THING." 

Rom.  vii.  18. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

Vers.  1,  2,  3.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  and  to  Aaron,  saying. 
Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  and  say  unto  them,  When  any 
man  hath  a  running  issue  out  of  his  flesh,  because  of  his  issue  he  is 
unclean.  And  this  shall  be  his  uncleanness  in  his  issue  :  whether 
his  flesh  run  with  his  issue,  or  his  flesh  be  stopped  from  his  issue, 
it  is  his  uncleanness." 

Moses  and  Aaron  are  both  addressed,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  disease  of  leprosy,  xiii.  1.  Wherever  there  is  only 
a  laiv  laid  down,  Moses  alone  hears  the  voice.  Grod 
speaks  only  to  the  lawgiver.  But,  in  cases  where  dis- 
ease is  prescribed  for  by  special  rules,  Aaron  is  joined 
with  Moses.  Is  this  because  a  priest — a  high  priest — 
ought  to  have  much  compassion,  and  might  be  more 
likely  to  learn  compassion  while  hearing  the  tone  of  pity 
in  which  the  Lord  spoke  of  man's  misery  ? 

This  secret  uncleanness,  known  only  to  the  person's 
self,  represents  the  secret  sins,  or  the  secret,  quiet,  oozing 
out  of  sin  from  the  natural  heart — its  flow  of  pollution 
while  not  a  word  is  spoken,  not  an  act  done,  not  a  motion 


CHAPTER  XV.  289 

in  the  eye  of  our  fellow-men.  The  more  disgusting  the 
images,  the  more  is  it  meant  to  express  Grod's  extreme 
abhorrence  of  the  sinful  state ;  just  as  in  1  Kings  xiv. 
10,  and  elsewhere,  indignation  at  the  ungodly  is  ex- 
pressed by  most  contemptuous  language.  Oh  !  that  we 
felt  the  shame  of  sin  !  0  !  to  be  confounded-  because  of 
our  inward  hardness !  Ashamed  so  as  not  to  look  up 
because  of  secret  unbelief,  secret  pride,  secret  selfishness, 
secret  lusts,  secret  painting  of  the  walls  with  imagery ! 

Some  think  this  disease  was  sent  as  a  judicial  punish- 
ment ;  for  it  is  so  referred  to  in  2  Sam.  iii.  29  ;  and  Mark 
V.  29,  calls  it  "iUaaTtl^"  '«  a  scourge." 

To  a  Jew  it  was  the  more  hateful,  as  being  pollution 
where  the  seal  of  circumcision  had  been.  Indwelling 
sin  thus  shows  its  existence  in  closest  neighborhood  to 
the  blood-sprinkling  of  Jesus. 

The  difference  in  the  kind  of  the  disease  (ver.  3)  does 
not  change  its  polluting  character.  Sin  may  be  flowing 
freely  as  a  stream,  or  may  be  brooded  over  till  the  soul 
is  like  a  stagnant  pool — in  any  form  it  is  hateful  to  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel.  The  lively  imagination  of  a  gay, 
poetic  mind  is  not  less  sinful  when  it  scatters  forth  its 
luscious  images,  than  the  dull,  brutal  feelings  of  the 
stupid,  ignorant  boor.  "  Thou  desirest  truth  in  the 
inward  parts."  "The  righteous  Lord  loveth  righteous- 
ness ;  his  countenance  doth  behold  the  upright" — 
his  countenance  shines  in  upon  the  cleansed,  blood- 
sprinkled  soul,  gazing  on  its  purity  with  true  delight, 
while  he  turns  away  from  the  sickening  sight  of  the 
unwashed  conscience  and  the  "  sinner  lying  in  his  blood." 

Vers.  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  10,  11,  12.''  "Every  bed  whereon  he  lieth  that 
hath  the  issue,  js  unclean :  and  everything  whereon  he  sitteth  shall 
be  unclean.    And  whoaoever  toucheth  his  bed  shall  wash  his  clothes, 

13 


290  THE  RUNNINa  ISSUE. 

and  bathe  himself  in  water,  and  be  unclean  until  the  even.  And 
he  that  toucheth  the  flesh  of  him  that  hath  the  issue  shall  wash  his 
clothes,  and  bathe  himself  in  water,  and  be  unclean  until  the  even. 
And  if  he  that  hath  the  issue  spit  upon  him  that  is  clean,  then  he 
shall  wash  his  clothes,  and  bathe  himself  in  water,  and  be  unclean 
until  the  even.  And  what  saddle  soever  he  rideth  upon  that  hath 
the  issue  shall  be  unclean.  And  whosoever  toucheth  anything  that 
was  under  him  shall  be  unclean  until  the  even  :  and  he  that  beareth 
any  of  those  things  shall  wash  his  clothes,  and  bathe  himself  in 
water,  and  be  unclean  until  the  even.  And  whomsoever  he  toucheth 
that  hath  the  issue,  and  hath  not  rinsed  his  hands  in  water,  he  shall 
wash  his  clothes,  and  bathe  himself  in  water,  and  be  unclean  until 
the  even.  And  the  vessel  of  earth  that  he  toucheth  which  hath  the 
issue,  shall  be  broken :  and  every  vessel  of  wood  shall  be  rinsed  in 
water." 

"We  have  already  had  occasion  to  notice  the  limited 
time  "  until  even.''''  (Chap.  xi.  25.)  But  let  us  further 
observe,  that  under  the  law  we  seldom  find  immediate 
pardon.  The  legal  ceremonies  were  thus  like  the  pool  of 
Bethesda — imperfect  types  of  Christ.  What  joy  there  is 
in  immediate  pardon  !  To  pass  at  once  from  hell  to 
heaven,  from  the  fangs  of  Satan,  the  smoke  of  hell,  the 
angry  recrimination  of  a  tossed  conscience,  and  the  dread 
of  a  frowning  Grod,  to  the  peace  and  love  of  the  Saviour's 
holy  bosom  I  The  law  had  a  shadow  of  good  things  to 
come,  but  was  not  the  very  image  of  those  things. 

Again  ;  let  us  notice  that  one  touch  conveyed  un- 
cleanness — so  full  is  the  cup,  that  if  shaken  at  all  its 
pollution  trickles  over.  What  a  glorious  contrast  have  we 
in  Jesus!  He  touches  (Mark  i.  41),  and  lo !  the  holy 
stream  of  health  flows  from  him.  Or  another  touches 
him,  and  disease  flies  away.     (Mark  v.  28.) 

We  are  here  taught  the  disgusting  constancy  with 
which  our  original,  deep-seated  corruption  will  naturally 
discover  itself.  In  all  situations,  towards  all  persons,  at 
all  seasons,  this  filthiness  of  the  secret  soul  may  be  traced. 


CHAPTER  XV.  291 

In  ver.  4,  the  man  is  represented  as  unclean  when  he 
lieth  down  to  sleep,  or  even  to  rest  at  noon.*  Ah! 
yonder  lies  a  sinner,  and  the  very  ground  under  him  is 
accursed.  His  very  pillow  may  shortly  become  a  spear 
under  his  throat ;  just  as  Jonah's  rest  soon  became  a 
tempestuous  sea.  A  friend  comes  to  see  him  and  gently 
awakes  him,  but  touches  his  couch  in  so  doing,  and 
becomes  thereby  unclean  (ver.  5) ;  for  the  man  is  all 
polluted.  However  amiable  the  friend  you  visit,  yet  if 
still  in  his  unhealed  corruption,  your  intercourse  with 
him  spreads  its  baleful  influence  over  you.  You  have 
insensibly  been  injured  by  the  contact.  Oh!  how  we 
should  watch  our  souls  in  mingling  with  a  world  lying 
in  wickedness  !  Oh  !  how  holy,  how  marvellously  strong 
in  holiness  was  Jesus !  who  breathed  this  polluted  air 
and  remained  as  holy  as  when  he  came. 

If  the  man  leave  the  spot,  and  another  occupy  it,  that 
other  has  seated  himself  in  the  sinner's  place  (ver.  6), 
and  the  memory  of  his  sin  is  not  gone.  He  is  in  con- 
tact with  a  polluted  thing.  As  when  one  of  us  now 
reads  the  details  of  a  sinner's  career,  and  our  mind  rests 
thereon,  we  are  involved  in  his  sin. 

If  a  physician  (ver.  7),  or  an  attendant,  touch  the  sick 
man's  flesh,  he  is  in  contact  with  sin,  and  becomes  pol- 
luted. This  legal  consequence  of  any  actual  contact 
with  the  defiled,  shows  us,  no  doubt,  the  danger  and 
hazard  of  even  attempting  to  aid  the  polluted.  It  is  at 
the  risk  of  being  ourselves  involved  in  their  sin.  There- 
fore, it  must  be  watchfully  done,  not  boldly  and  adven- 
turously. You  breathe  an  impure  atmosphere  :  proceed 
with  caution. 

*  So  23^a  is  used  in  2  Sam.  iv.  5,  when  Ishbosheth  was  reclining  in 
the  heat  of  the  day. 


292  THE  EUNNING  ISSUE. 

If  (ver.  8)  any  even  accidental  touch  occur — as  if  the 
diseased  man  spit  or  sneeze,  so  as  anything  from  him 
reaches  the  bystander,  pollution  is  spread.  An  accidental 
word,  a  casual  expression,  an  unexpected  look,  may 
suggest  sin ;  and  if  it  does,  forthwith  wash  it  all  away 
ere  evening  comes.  "  Let  not  the  sun  go  down  upon 
thy  wrath."  Leave  no  stain  for  a  moment  upon  thy 
conscience. 

When  the  man  rides  forth,  lo  !  yonder  is  a  sinner  ;  and 
his  saddle  is  polluted  ;  and  the  mattress  he  spread  on  the 
floor  of  his  tent  for  a  temporary  rest  in  his  journey  (ver. 
10)  is  so  polluted  that  the  attendant  who  lifts  it  is  defiled. 
Oh  !  sad,  sad  estate  of  man  !  In  going  out  or  coming 
in,  in  the  house  or  by  the  way,  his  inward  fountain  of 
sin  flows  on  unceasingly,  and  the  Holy  One  of  Israel 
follows  him  with  his  eye  to  mark  him  as  a  sinner. 

Nay,  if  he  put  his  hand  forth  (ver.  11)  to  touch  any 
one — to  give  him  a  friendly  welcome,  or  aid  him  in  any 
work,  he  conveys  pollution,  unless  he  have  first  "rinsed 
his  hands  in  water."  The  sinner,  whose  natural  heart 
is  still  unhealed,  cannot  do  even  a  kind  act  without  sin — 
his  only  mode  of  doing  so  would  be  "  washing  in  clean 
water."  And  the  vessels  he  uses  (ver.  12)  must  be 
broken  or  rinsed  in  water ;  even  as  the  earth,  on  which 
the  sinner  has  stood  as  his  theatre  for  committing  evil, 
shall  be  broken  in  pieces  by  the  fire  of  the  last  day  ("  all 
these  things  shall  be  dissolved,''^  2  Pet.  iii.  11),  the  trial 
by  water  being  already  past. 

Vers.  13,  14,  15.  "  And  when  he  that  hath  an  issue  is  cleansed  of  his 
issue,  then  he  shall  number  to  himself  seven  days  for  his  cleansing, 
and  wash  his  clothes,  and  bathe  his  flesh  in  running  water,  and  shall 
be  clean.  And  on  the  eighth  day  he  shall  take  to  him  two  turtle- 
doves, or  two  young  pigeons,  and  come  before  the  Lord  unto  the  door 


CHAPTER  XV.  293 

of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  and  give  them  unto  the  priest : 
and  the  priest  shall  offer  them,  the  one  for  a  sin-offering,  and  the 
other  for  a  burnt-offering  :  and  the  priest  shall  make  an  atonement 
for  him  before  the  Lord  for  his  issue." 

The  time  of  cleansing  is  to  be  "  seven  days^'' — a  full 
time.  During  each  of  these  days  he  is  to  wash  his 
clothes  and  bathe  himself  "  in  running  water," — the 
emblem  of  the  purity  of  the  Holy  Grhost.  And  it  is  the 
indwelling  Spirit,  like  living  water,  that  our  corrupt 
heart  requires  in  order  to  its  sanctification.  During 
seven  days  he  thus  declared  his  need  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
by  his  repeated  washings.  Then,  on  the  eighth  day  he 
comes  to  receive  "  atonement"  (ver.  15),  as  the  means  to 
his  true  purification.  He  brings  two  ''  turtle-doves^  or 
two  young  pigeons  ;^^  perhaps,  because  whatever  differ- 
ence might  be  made  by  circumstances  in  regard  to  the 
actions^  or  actual  sins,  of  rich  and  poor,  yet  in  regard  to 
original  sin  and  depravity  of  heart  both  are  alike.  Hence, 
the  poor  man's  offering  of  "  turtles  or  pigeons'^''  is  fixed 
upon,  bringing  down  the  rich  to  the  level  of  the  poorest. 
And  yet,  perhaps,  there  is  a  farther  reason — the  turtle- 
dove, or  the  pigeon,  being  so  frequently  the  emblem  of 
purity  (Song  vi.  9 ;  v.  12 ;  Psalm  Ixxiv.  19),  they  may 
have  been  chosen  in  this  case  as  reminding  the  offerer 
that  personal  purity  is  required  in  coming  to  God. 

A  full  atonement  is  as  much  required  for  our  inward, 
secret  sins,  as  for  open  and  flagrant  sins.  The  sinful 
vision  that  our  fancy  spread  out  before  us  for  a  moment 
must  be  washed  away  by  blood.  The  tendency  which 
our  soul  felt  to  sympathize  in  that  act  of  resentment  or 
revenge  must  be  washed  away  by  blood.  The  hour,  or 
minutes  we  spent  in  brooding  over  our  supposed  hard  lot, 
must  be  redeemed  by   blood.      The   selfish   wish   we 


294  THE  EUNNING  ISSUE. 

cherished  for  special  prosperity  in  some  undertaking  that 
was  to  reflect  its  credit  on  us  only,  is  to  be  washed  away 
by  blood.  The  proud  aspiration,  the  sensual  impulse, 
the  world-loving  eye  our  soul  cast  on  earth's  glories,  must 
be  washed  away  by  blood.  The  darkness,  ignorance, 
suspicion,  and  misconception  we  entertain  toward  Grod 
and  his  salvation,  must  be  washed  in  blood.  "  Behold, 
thou  desirest  truth  in  the  inward  parts;  and  in  the 
hidden  part  (hidden  region  of  the  soul)  thou  shalt  make 
me  to  know  wisdom."     (Psalm  li.  6.) 

Vers.  16,  IT,  18.  "  And  if  any  man's  seed  of  copulation  go  out  from 
him,  then  he  shall  wash  all  his  flesh  in  water,  and  be  unclean  until 
the  even.  And  every  garment,  and  every  skin,  whereon  is  the  seed 
of  copulation,  shall  be  washed  with  water,  and  shall  be  unclean 
until  the  even.  The  woman  also  with  whom  man  shall  lie  with 
seed  of  copulation,  they  shall  both  bathe  themselves  in  water,  and 
be  unclean  until  the  even." 

It  is  supposed  that  this  law  was  intended  to  mark 
God's  holy  abhorrence  of  uncleanness,  even  in  the  desire. 
Hence,  he  puts  in  the  class  of  the  polluted,  any  one  who 
eevn  accidentally  discovered  inordinate  desire,  married  or 
unmarried.  Indeed,  so  far  was  such  a  state  of  feeling 
from  being  overlooked  by  the  Lord  that  he  enjoins  pollu- 
tion to  be  attached  to  the  very  neighborhood  thereof. 
"  Every  garment  and  every  vessel  made  of  skin"  that 
comes  in  contact  with  the  defiled  man  must  be  washed 
and  held  unclean  until  the  even.  And  so  with  the  per- 
sons, not  casting  off  the  thought  of  their  sad  depravity, 
but  all  day  long  mourning  over  this  fall,  though  known 
only  to  God ;  and  using  the  water  which  was  the  em- 
blem of  a  cleansed  and  pure  nature.  "  Having,  there- 
fore, these  promises,  dearly  beloved,  let  us  cleanse  our- 
selves from  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit,  perfecting 
holiness  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord."     (2  Cor.  vii.  1.) 


CHAPTER  XV.  295 

Vers.  19,  20,  21,  22,  23,  24.  "  And  if  a  -woman  nave  an  issue,  and  her 
issue  in  her  flesh  be  blood,  she  shall  be  put  apart  seven  days ;  and 
whosoever  toucheth  her  shall  be  unclean  until  the  even.  And 
everything  that  she  lieth  upon  in  her  separation  shall  be  unclean ; 
everything  also  that  she  sitteth  upon  shall  be  unclean.  And  who- 
soever toucheth  her  bed  shall  wash  his  clothes,  and  bathe  himself  in 
water,  and  be  unclean  until  the  even.  And  whosoever  toucheth 
anything  that  she  sat  upon,  shall  wash  his  clothes,  and  bathe  him- 
self in  water,  and  be  unclean  until  the  even.  And  if  it  be  on  her 
bed,  or  on  anything  whereon  she  sitteth,  when  he  toucheth  it  he 
shall  be  unclean  until  the  even.  And  if  any  man  lie  with  her  at  all, 
and  her  flowers  be  upon  him,  he  shall  be  unclean  seven  days ;  and 
all  the  bed  whereon  he  lieth  shall  be  unclean." 

As  in  the  case  of  the  man  noticed  at  the  beginning  of 
the  chapter,  so  now,  the  same  law  is  laid  down  in  the 
case  of  the  woman  who  has  any  issue.  An  issue  of  blood, 
such  as  that  referred  to  here,  brought  the  women  of  Israel 
from  time  to  time  into  great  trial.  We  may  conceive  her 
miserable  state  during  the  time  she  was  ill.  Separated 
from  general  society  (for  so  Num.  v.  2,  seems  to  declare), 
she  was  like  a  leper.  She  was  "  a  fear  to  her  acquain- 
tance." Everything  she  touched  became  defiled ;  every 
one  that  touched  her,  even  the  very  physicians  (ver.  21) 
she  went  to  consult,  or  who  came  (ver.  23)  to  see  her 
when  she  could  not  visit  them  because  of  her  distress, 
were  unclean  for  a  day  after.  Her  husband  himself 
(ver.  24)  was  in  like  manner  separated  from  her,  or  pol- 
luted and  defiled  if  he  did  not  live  apart  from  her.  She 
was  a  living  picture  of  the  awful  truth,  that  sin,  how- 
ever hidden  to  the  view  of  men,  is  so  virulent  in  its 
nature  and  tendency,  that  it  dissolves  every  relationship, 
and  sets  apart  the  sinner  for  misery  and  sadness. 

In  chap.  XX.  18,  death  is  the  penalty  if  this  unclean- 
ness  were  known  and  disregarded  by  the  parties.  But 
the  treatment  here  seems  severe  enough,  and  we  are  led 


296  THE  EUNNING  ISSUE. 

to  inquire  into  the  cause.  Why  is  the  woman's  case 
dealt  with  so  severely  ?  Perhaps  to  keep  up  the  memory 
of  "  The  FallP  The  woman  was  in  the  transgression. 
"  Remember  whence  thou  art  fallen."  Our  original  sin, 
inherited  from  our  first  parents,  is  not  to  be  forgotten. 
The  Lord  never  forgets  that  time  of  the  fall,  even  as  he 
never  forgets  the  day  when  the  angels  left  their  first 
habitation.  Of  what  parents  have  we  come  !  See  the 
rock  out  of  which  we  were  hewn  !  "  Thy  father  was  an 
Amorite  and  thy  mother  an  Hittite." 

Vers,  25,  26,  27,  28,  29,  30.  "And  if  a  woman  have  an  issue  of  her 
blood  many  days  out  of  the  time  of  her  separation,  or  if  it  run  be- 
yond the  time  of  her  separation ;  all  the  days  of  the  issue  of  her 
uncleanness  shall  be  as  the  days  of  her  separation :  she  shall  be 
unclean.  Every  bed  whereon  she  lieth  all  the  days  of  her  issue 
shall  be  unto  her  as  the  bed  of  her  separation ;  and  whatsoever  she 
sitteth  upon  shall  be  unclean,  as  the  uncleanness  of  her  separation. 
And  whosoever  toucheth  those  things  shall  be  unclean,  and  shall 
wash  his  clothes,  and  bathe  himself  in  water,  and  be  unclean  until 
the  even.  But  if  she  be  cleansed  of  her  issue,  then  she  shall  num- 
ber to  herself  seven  days,  and  after  that  she  shall  be  clean.  And 
on  the  eighth  day  she  shall  take  unto  her  two  turtles,  or  two  young 
pigeons,  and  bring  them  unto  the  priest,  to  the  door  of  the  taber- 
nacle of  the  congregation.  And  the  priest  shall  offer  the  one  for  a 
sin-offering,  and  the  other  for  a  burnt-offering ;  and  the  priest  shall 
make  an  atonement  for  her  before  the  Lord,  for  the  issue  of  her  un- 
cleanness." 

The  case  here  referred  to  is  such  as  that  of  the  woman 
in  Mark  v.  29 ;  an  unnatural  issue,  called  in  that  pas- 
sage "  a  plague,"  or  "  scourge,"  as  if  it  were  something 
sent  judicially.  She  is  treated  as  in  the  former  cases,  all 
the  time  this  plague  or  disease  lasts,  though  it  should  be 
twelve  or  twenty  years.  Every  new  view  of  these  cases 
seems  intended  to  impress  on  us  the  inward  shame  which 
we  ought  to  cherish  for  our  defilement.     We  may  well 


CHAPTER  XY.  297 

be  confounded  for  the  secret  loathsomeness  of  sin  that  no 
eye  of  man  ever  could  have  discerned. 

Take  the  case  of  the  woman  in  Mark  v.  29,  twelve 
years  thus  deeply  distressed,  groaning  over  her  misery, 
living  alone,  in  vain  trying  every  physician,  and  keeping 
aloof  from  friends  as  much  as  possible,  lest  she  should 
spread  defilement  on  them  by  her  presence.  What  a 
picture  of  a  sinner  !  A  sinner  conscious  of  her  nature's 
fearful  pollution,  mourning  over  her  weak  and  wicked 
heart,  trying  every  remedy  that  man  can  suggest,  yet 
still  sad  at  heart,  and  her  soul  still  running  down  with 
its  new  outflowings  of  sin.  But  one  tells  her  of  Jesus. 
She  hears  of  his  having,  the  night  before,  calmed  the  sea 
at  its  height  of  storm,  and  having  gone  over  to  the  other 
side  for  the  sake  of  saving  one  soul.  She  comes ;  she 
sees  and  hears  him  for  herself,  and  is  persuaded  that  he 
has  the  very  fountain  of  life  in  his  person.  In  this  faith 
she  touches  the  hem  of  his  robe,  as  if  to  say,  "  He  is  full 
of  love  and  power,  even  to  the  very  skirts  of  his  garment." 
She  brought  no  gift ;  for  she  had  spent  all  her  living 
already  on  physicians.  She  brought  nothing  like  a  begun 
cure ;  for  she  was  "  nothing  bettered,  but  rather  grew 
worse."  She  had  not  long-waiting  to  show  as  a  plea  ; 
for  she  came  only  that  morning.  She  had  no  repentance 
to  offer ;  for  hitherto  her  regrets  were  simply  that  she 
had  in  vain  sought  to  other  physicians.  She  had  no  love 
to  allege ;  for  she  was  only  now  coming  to  see  what 
reason  for  love  there  was.  She  offered  no  prayer ;  she 
simply  drew  near,  and  placed  herself  in  contact  with  the 
fountain  of  life  and  healing  !  The  result  was  immediate 
cure  !  Sin  and  grace  met !  and  this  is  ever  the  singular 
result  of  their  meeting.  How  often  now,  after  present- 
ing at  Jerusalem  her  turtle-doves,  would  she  walk  at 

13* 


298  THE  EUNNING  ISSUE. 

that  sea-shore  with  the  daughter  of  Jairus — who  was 
born  the  very  year  she  took  her  disease,  and  who  was 
raised  from  the  dead  the  very  same  day  that  she  was  healed 
— and  together  would  they  sing  and  praise  the  Lord,  one 
saying,  "  Who  healeth  all  thy  diseases,"  the  other  re- 
sponding, "  Who  redeemeth  thy  life  from  destruction." 
(Ps.  ciii.  3.) 

When  Jesus  healed  the  leprosy  and  the  issue  of  bloody 
was  he  not  tacitly  explaining  the  type  couched  under 
these  diseases  and  their  cleansing?  Was  it  not  like  his 
healing  the  man  at  the  pool  of  Bethesda  ?  There  was  an 
emblem  in  it  all,  though  he  said  not  at  the  moment  that 
this  was  what  he  wished  to  show.  It  was  enough  that 
he  had  declared  himself  "  come  to  fulfil  the  lawP  They 
were  thus  warned  to  expect  that  his  every  action  should 
tend  in  that  direction.  It  is  in  reference  to  this  chapter 
that  Zechariah  (chap.  xiii.  1)  calls  Christ  the  "  Fountain 
for  uncleanness'^  (sthd)  ;  and  Isa.  iv.  4,  speaks  of  washing 
away  "the  filth  of  the  daughters  of  Zion,  and  purging 
away  the  hlood  of  Jerusalem^''''  by  judgments  that  will 
drive  them  to  this  fountain.  Thanks  be  unto  God  for 
his  unspeakable  gift  I 

Vers,  81,  32,  33.  "Thus  shall  ye  separate  the  children  of  Israel  from 
their  uncleanness,  that  they  die  not  in  their  uncleanness,  when  they 
defile  my  tabernacle  that  is  among  them.  This  is  the  law  of  him 
that  hath  an  issue,  and  of  him  whose  seed  goeth  from  him,  and  is 
defiled  therewith ;  and  of  her  that  is  sick  of  her  flowers,  and  of  him 
that  hath  an  issue,*  of  the  man,  and  of  the  woman,  and  of  him  that 
lieth  with  lier  that  is  unclean." 

No  commandment  of  Grod  is  trivial;  hence  there  is 
here  a  summary  of  all.     The  threatening,  in  ver.  31, 

*  The  force  of  the  clause  is,  "  even  of  any  one  that  has  an  issue,  male  or 
female."  As  the  masculine,  ti'^ijvj,  in  Gen.  i.  21,  is  generically  used  for 
mankind,  so  ^J"^  here. 


CHAPTER  XV.  299 

teaches  us  that  all  our  worship  in  the  sanctuary  must  be 
offered  with  inward  purity,  as  well  as  outward.  We 
must  be  conscious  to  ourselves  of  having  been  cleansed. 
To  come  while  aware  of  unremoved  pollution,  is  to  de- 
file the  tabernacle  and  expose  ourselves  to  immediate 
curse.  "  The  Lord  our  Grod  is  holy."  "  Let  us  have 
grace,  whereby  we  may  serve  Grod  acceptably."  (Heb, 
xii.  28.) 


t  f  aij  nf  Itntijmfitt. 


"  WHO  HIS  OWN  SELF  BARE  OUR  SINS  IN  HIS  OWN  BODY  ON  THE  TREE,  THAT  WE, 
BEING  DEAD  TO  SINS,  MIGHT  LIVE  UNTO  RIGHTEOUSNESS." 1  Pet.  U.  24. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Vers.  1,  2,  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  after  the  death  of  the 
two  sons  of  Aaron,  when  they  offered  before  the  Lord,  and  died ; 
and  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Speak  unto  Aaron  thy  brother,  that 
he  come  not  at  all  times  into  the  holy  place  within  the  veil,  before 
the  mercy-seat,  which  is  upon  the  ark ;  that  he  die  not :  for  I  will 
appear  in  the  cloud  upon  the  mercy-seat." 

All  the  laws  about  unoleanness  that  disqualified  wor- 
shippers from  coming  to  the  sanctuary,  may  have  been 
delivered  after  the  death  of  Nadab  and  Abihu,  on  purpose 
to  show,  at  such  a  solemn  time,  how  holy  is  the  Lord, 
and  that  he  must  be  approached  with  fear  and  reverence. 
So  now  also,  while  that  event  is  still  fresh  in  Aaron's 
remembrance,  this  C9mmand  is  given,  ver.  2.  The  event 
was  thus  made  useful  to  qualify  Aaron  more  fully  for 
his  solemn  duties ;  he  learns,  and  all  generations  after 
him,  how  profound  must  be  the  reverence  wherewith  the 
Lord  is  approached.  A  minister's  afflictions  are  not  in 
vain ;  they  affect  his  office ;  they  prepare  him  for  it,  as 
Paul  wrote  (2  Cor.  it  4)  to  the"-  Corinthians  in  his  day. 
It  is,  at  the  same  time,  signif|cant,  that  before  the  Day 


CHAPTER  XVI.  301 

of  Atonement  is  spoken  of,  there  should  be  a  spreading 
out  of  sin^  and  of  deaths  which  is  its  desert. 

Aaron  must  enter  ivithin  the  veil  only  at  appointed 
times  ;  for  ivithin  the  veil  the  cloud  of  glory  rests  at  these 
appointed  times,*"  and  Jehovah  is  there,  as  it  were,  in  his 
inaccessible  light.  He  that  comes  in  must  be  led  in  by 
God  himself.  "  For  by  him  we  have  access,  through  one 
Spirit  to  the  Father." 

Vers.  3,  4.  "  Thus  shall  Aaron  come  into  the  holy  place  ;  with  a  young 
bullock  for  a  sin-offering,  and  a  ram  for  a  burnt-offering.  He  shall 
put  on  the  holy  linen  coat,  and  he  shall  have  the  linen  breeches 
upon  his  flesh,  and  shall  be  girded  with  a  linen  girdle,  and  with  the 
hnen  mitre  shall  he  be  attired :  these  are  holy  garments ;  therefore 
shall  he  wash  his  flesh  in  water,  aud  so  put  them  on." 

Here  is  Aaron's  personal  preparation.  After  the  usual 
morning  sacrifice  (see  Num.  xxix.  11),  and  a  sacrifice  of 
seven  lambs  at  the  same  time — to  indicate  the  complete 
offering  up  to  G-od  that  was  that  day  to  be  made,  and 
the  complete  dependence  on  atoning  blood  that  day  to  be 
shown  in  all  that  was  done — Aaron  approached  the  holy 
place  ;  for  ver.  3,  says,  "  come  to  the  holy  place."  In  so 
doing,  he  led  along  a  bullock  for  his  sin-ofiering,  and  a 
ram  for  his  burnt-offering — both  of  these  for  himself,  as 
an  individual,  and  for  his  household.!  On  these  he  was 
to  lay  his  sins.  But  ere  he  did  this,  he  retired,  and  put 
off  his  golden  garments,  and  put  on  the  plain  linen  ones 
— pure,  but  unadorned — like  Jesus  on  earth,  holy,  yet  in 
a  servant's  form.  The  priest  must  put  aside  both  ephod 
and  breastplate  ;  he  appeared  simply  as  head  of  the  peo- 

*  It  is  doubtful  if  this  cloud  of  glory  rested  there  all  the  year  round,  or 
only  occasionally. 

f  Some  think  "  his  house"  (ver.  6),  means  "  the  house  of  Aaron,"  in  its 
widest  sense,  namely,  all  the  body  of  priests  and  Levites,  as  in  Ps.  cxv.  12. 


302  THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT. 

pie.  He  washed  himself  in  water  ere  he  put  them  on, 
that  holiness  might  still  be  proclaimed  by  him,  though 
putting  on  this  unattractive  dress ;  even  as  our  Surety, 
in  entering  Mary's  womb,  was  declared  to  be  "  that  Holy 
One  that  shall  be  born  of  thee." 

Ver.  5.  "  And  he  shall  take  of  the  congregation  of  the  children  of  Israel 
two  kids  of  the  goats  for  a  sin-ofFering,  and  one  ram  for  a  burnt- 
ofifering." 

These  were  brought  to  him  by  the  people  after  he  had 
put  on  his  linen  robes  ;  and  they  were  for  themselves.  It 
was  these  that  were  to  be  specially  typical  of  Christ's 
work  ;  for  wherein  Aaron  offered  for  himself  he  could  not 
resemble  Jesus,  as  Heb.  vii.  26-28  declares. 

It  is  to  be  remarked,  that  no  details  are  given  respect- 
ing any  of  the  burnt-offerings  of  this  day.  The  details 
are  all  confined  to  the  sin-offerings.  Hence,  though 
"  seven  lambs''''^  are  mentioned,  besides  "  the  continual 
burnt-offering^''^  yet  nothing  more  about  them  is  record- 
ed. The  ram  of  Aaron^s  is  mentioned  as  to  be  offered, 
yet  no  particulars  are  given ;  and  the  ram  of  the  people 
is  also  specially  noticed,  but  its  offering  up  is  not  de- 
scribed". The  reason  is,  all  these  were  "  burnt-offerings?^ 
Now,  on  this  day  the  Lord  wishes  to  fix  the  attention  of 
all  upon  the  sin-offerings^  as  it  was  a  day  of  expiation 
for  the  confessed,  defined,  specified  sins  of  Israel.! 

Vers.  6,  7,  8,  9,  10.  "  And  Aaron  shall  offer  his  bullock  of  the  sin-offer- 
ing, which  is  for  himself,  and  make  an  atonement  for  himself,  and 

*  Perhaps  there  was  also  a  bullock  and  a  rayn  along  with  these,  see 
Num.  xxix.  8. 

f  This  seems  to  me  the  true  reason  for  the  omission.  On  this  point  I 
can  find  nothing  satisfactory  in  any  of  the  commentators.  Their  accoimts 
of  these  rites  are  very  confused  on  the  whole. 


CHAPTER  XVI.  303 

for  his  house.  And  he  shall  take  the  two  goats,  and  present  them 
before  the  Lord  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation. 
And  Aaron  shall  cast  lots  upon  the  two  goats  ;  one  lot  for  the  Lord, 
and  the  other  lot  for  the  scapegoat.  And  Aaron  shall  bring  the 
goat  upon  which  the  Lord's  lot  fell,  and  offer  him  for  a  sin-offering. 
But  the  goat  on  which  the  lot  fell  to  be  the  scapegoat,  shall  be 
presented  alive  before  the  Lord,  to  make  an  atonement  with  him, 
and  to  let  him  go  for  a  scapegoat  into  the  wilderness." 

These  verses  describe  no  more  than  the  order  and 
manner  of  arranging  the  transactions  of  the  day — Aaron's 
bullock  first ;  then  the  lot  to  be  cast  on  the  two  goats, 
whose  different  destinations  are  determined. 

There  is  little  ground  for  doubting  that  the  rendering, 
''  scape-goat,"  is  the  best.  But  two  other  views  have 
been  vigorously  maintained ;  one,  that  the  word  (^t5<J5|) 
means  the  devil,  the  other,  that  it  was  the  Jewish  people 
in  their  state  of  apostasy  and  rejection.  Among  the 
maintainers  of  the  former  view,  Faber  is  by  far  the  most 
powerful,  for  he  repudiates  the  idea  of  any  offering  to 
Satan,  and  considers  the  transaction  as  intended  to  signify 
Christ  handed  over  to  Satan  for  the  bruising'  of  his  heel. 
Hengstenberg  also  maintains  this,  but  applies  it  differ- 
ently.* The  latter  view  is  held  by  Bush,  who  tries  to 
show  that  it  was  appropriated,  on  an  occasion  that  showed 
forth  Christ's  death  and  atonement  so  fully,  to  introduce 
his  rejection  by  Israel  as  one  of  the  accompaniments  of 
that  momentous  transaction. 

The  objections  urged  to  the  common  rendering  "  scape- 
goat,^^ however,  are,  after  all,  quite  unsatisfactory.  It  is 
evidently  the  most  natural  meaning.  The  word  t^,  for 
"  a  goat,^^  had  just  been  used,  ver.  5,  and  btx ,  ''  to  depart, 
go  away,"  was  likely  enough,  even  on  account  of  its 
sound,  to  be  the  term  employed  to  express  the  fact  of  the 

*  See  "  Egypt  and  Books  of  Moses." 


804  THE   DAY  OF  ATONEMENT. 

goat's  being  dismissed.  Then,  as  to  the  two  strong  ob- 
jections alleged  by  some  against  this  view,  when  ex- 
amined, they  have  no  force.  For  the  first  is,  that  if  the 
clause,  "  the  one  lot  for  the  Lord^^  intimate  that  the 
goat  is  appropriated  to  a  person^  so  should  the  next 
clause,  "  the  other  lot  for  (^)^\t)  Azazel,''^  also  signify 
appropriation  to  a  person.  But  the  answer  to  this  is, 
that  the  proper  sense  is  not  appropriation  to^  or  desig- 
nation for  persons  ;  it  is  designation  for  use,  viz.,  the 
first  for  the  purpose  of  being  killed  at  the  Lord's  altar  ; 
the  other  for  the  purpose  of  sending  away  to  the  wilder- 
ness. The  second  objection  is  more  serious.  It  is  said 
that  the  words  in  ver.  10,  "."iVs  nQs';' ,  never  can  mean, 
"  make  atonement  z«?zY/i  him,"  but  must  mean  "/or  /zm," 
as  the  object.  And  it  is  on  this  ground  mainly  that  Bush 
defends  his  strange  idea  of  this  goat  being  a  type  of  apos- 
tate Israel.  But,  in  reply,  we  assert  that  the  words  may 
have  the  meaning  which  our  version  gives  them ;  and 
that  iis?,  would  probably  have  been  used  if  "/or  Am," 
had  been  meant,  seeing  this  is  the  phrase  used  all 
throughout  this  chapter  to  express  that  idea.  In  Exod. 
XXX.  30,  the  phrase  (b?  "^53)  occurs  twice  in  the  sense  of 
"  atone  over,  or  upon :"  "  Aaron  shall  make  atonement 
upon  the  horns  of  it  once  in  a  year  ;"  and  "  once  in  the 
year  shall  he  make  atonement  upon  if  (t^^^j  ^53-;).  So 
here,  the  priest  is  to  make  atonement  over  the  scape-goat, 
by  putting  Israel's  guilt  upon  it  ere  he  sends  it  away. 
And  if  one  say,  that  surely  it  is  strange  that  this  mode 
of  expression  should  occur  so  rarely,  the  answer  is,  the 
act  described  by  it  occurred  rarely,  and  no  other  words 
could  better  express  the  act  intended. 

Probably,  the  root  of  all  these  objections  has  been  the 
secret  feeling  that  there  was  something  quite  unsatisfac- 


CHAPTER  XVI.  805 

tory  in  explaining  the  passage  as  a  type  of  death  and 
resurrection.  How  the  scape- goat  could  mean  resurrec- 
tion^ has  been  secretly  felt  to  be  very  puzzling.  But  this 
difficulty  will  vanish  when  we  come  to  see  that  it  does 
not  mean  resurrection.  Let  us  proceed,  therefore,  to  con- 
sider the  whole  transactions  of  that  memorable  day. 

Vers.  11,  12,  13,  14.  "And  Aaron  shall  bring  the  bullock  of  the  sin- 
offering  which  is  for  himself,  and  shall  make  an  atonement  for  him- 
self, and  for  his  house,  and  shall  kill  the  bullock  of  the  sin-offering 
which  is  for  himself:  and  he  shall  take  a  censer  full  of  burning  coals 
of  fire  from  off  the  altar  before  the  Lord,  and  his  hands  full  of 
sweet  incense  beaten  small,  and  bring  it  within  the  veil :  and  he 
shall  put  the  incense  upon  the  fire  before  the  Lord,  that  the  cloud 
of  the  incense  may  cover  the  mercy-seat  that  is  upon  the  testimony, 
that  he  die  not :  and  he  shall  take  of  the  blood  of  the  bullock,  and 
sprinkle  it  with  his  finger  upon  the  mercy-seat  eastward :  and  be- 
fore the  mercy-seat  shall  he  sprinkle  of  the  blood  with  his  finger 
seven  times." 

All  the  victims  having  stood  before  the  Lord — types 
of  all  our  race  standing  before  him,  shuddering  under  the 
curse — Aaron,  first  of  all,  offers  for  himself  and  his  house. 
He  takes  the  sin-offering  bullock^  slays  it  on  the  altar, 
and  pours  out  its  blood.  With  the  blood  he  fills  one  of 
the  bowls  of  the  altar.  Then,  with  this  in  one  hand,  he 
places  in  the  other  a  pan  of  live  coals  from  the  very  same 
altar — out  of  the  very  same  flames  that  had  fed  upon  his 
sacrifice — and  on  this  he  sprinkles  a  handful  of  incense, 
whose  sweet  fragrance  instantly  fills  the  courts  of  the 
Lord's  house.  What  a  glorious  scene  for  sinners !  This 
sinner's  offering  is  accepted  !  The  sweet  savor  breathes 
over  it  and  ascends  to  heaven.  The  very  fire^  that 
preyed  upon  the  bullock  till  it  was  consumed  into  ashes, 

*  Notice,  the  fragrance  is  drawn  out  by  the  fire,  to  show  that  acceptance 
is  effected  by  justice  itself. 


306  THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT. 

is  that  which  causes  this  fragrance  to  be  felt ;  the  very- 
righteousness  that  sought  for  an  atonement  ere  it  could 
forgive,  delights  to  proclaim  that  the  law  is  magnified, 
Jehovah  glorified,  the  sinner  justified.  The  holy  law, 
having  met  with  its  requisitions,  exults  in  declaring  the 
sinner  free  I 

But  Aaron's  next  step  is  yet  more  wondrous.  He 
advances  to  the  Holiest  of  all^  passing  through  The  Holy 
place,  blood  and  sweet  incense  all  the  time  held  up  in  his 
hand ;  yea,  not  only  a  censer  full  of  incense,  but  a  cup 
of  it,  besides,  held  in  his  hand.  The  light  from  the 
golden  candlestick  directs  his  reverent  step  to  the  veil, 
which  he  draws  aside.  Forthwith,  the  bright  cloud  of 
glory  pours  its  full  radiance  upon  him — too  bright  for  his 
feeble  eye,  were  it  not  softened  by  the  cloud  of  incense 
that  arises  from  the  censer  in  his  hand.  Thus  enveloped, 
he  sprinkles  the  blood  on  the  mercy-seat  seven  times. 
But  what  a  moment  was  this !  It  is  his  own  sins  that 
he  is  thus  confessing ;  his  own  death,  his  own  deserved 
wrath,  is  what  is  spread  out  before  the  Lord  in  that 
sprinkled  blood !  His  tears  drop  on  the  floor  as  he  again 
and  again  spreads  out  this  symbol  of  his  life  forfeited 
and  of  his  life  saved.  It  seems  that  offering  of  incense 
was  always  accompanied  with  prayer  (Rev.  viii.  4) ;  it 
was  so  here.  Elijah's  prayer  for  rain,  when  seven  times 
in  succession  he  urged  the  plea  that  in  the  end  prevailed, 
was  not  more  awfully  earnest  than  Aaron's  now.  When 
first  he  sprinkles  the  blood,  oh,  how  deep  his  agony  I 
"  0  God,  be  merciful*  to  me  a  sinner."  Yet  oh,  how 
sweet  his  hope  as  he  waves  the  censer  over  it,  and  feels 
the  savor  of  life  !     Again  and  again  he  thus  presents  his 

*  The  very  word  there  used  seems  to  point  the  finger  to  the  "  iXaffmpiov" 
the  mercy-scat.    It  is  IXacOrjTi  [lot,  Luke  xviii.  13. 


CHAPTER  XVI.  807 

atonement,  till  tlie  seventh  time  ends  the  whole  transac- 
tion, and  he  stands  alone  with  Grod,  justified,  accepted, 
loved,  and  blessed.  Happier  man  than  Adam !  More 
holy  spot  than  Eden  !  Happier  man,  because  escaped 
from  the  curse  forever,  and  entered  into  an  everlasting 
fellowship  with  the  Almighty.  More  holy  spot,  because 
encircled  with  such  amazing  discoveries  of  the  infinite 
perfections  of  holiness.  In  every  way  more  blessed  !  for 
here  are  springs  from  the  Grodhead  gushing  forth  as  they 
never  did  in  Paradise — new  forms  of  love,  joy,  peace, 
blended  with  righteousness,  and  wisdom,  and  truth. 

It  was  thus  with  Jesus  in  atoning  for  others.  He 
all  along  carried  the  blood  and  the  sioeet  incense*  with 
him.  If  he  is  baptized  in  Jordan,  lo !  the  cloud  of  in- 
cense ascends,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son."  If  he  talk 
of  his  decease,  which  he  is  to  accomplish  at  Jerusalem, 
lo  !  again,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son."  If  he  is  troubled 
in  the  temple,  and  the  consuming  fire  be  felt  in  his  bones, 
lo !  the  incense  again,  "  I  have  glorified  thee,  and  will 
glorify  thee  again."  He  enters  the  sepulchre,  rending 
asunder  the  veil ;  then,  lo  I  the  cloud  of  incense  settles 
on  his  head  !  All  is  favor  now ;  G-od  meets  with  man, 
and  man  rests  on  G-od  !     "  It  is  finished." 

Christ's  resurrection  may  have  been  typified  by  Aaron's 

^  " Incense"  because  of  its  smell  being  pleasing,  is  the  type  of  service 
offered  acceptably  ;  see  Rev.  viii.  4 ;  Ps.  cxli.  2.  But  here  notice,  that  in 
Rev.  V.  8,  the  "  golden  vials"  are  not  censers.  The  censer  is,  in  the  Sep- 
tuagint,  "  TO  trvptlov  i'  and  ^^ra  irvpcXa"  (2  Kings  xxiv.  15),  are  distinguished 
from  "ras  <pia\ai."  "  Vials"  are  the  bowels  of  the  altar,  or  the  like.  In 
Rev.  V.  8,  the  saints  see  Christ  about  to  enter  on  his  glorious  reign,  and 
forthwith  take  their  harps  to  praise,  and  also  hold  up  their  bowlfuls  of 
Btill  unanswered  prayers,  because  they  will  be  fully  granted  now.  As 
Ps.  Ixxii.  20.  The  saints  here  do  not  intercede  for  others ;  they  have  no 
censers ;  they  only  present  their  own  prayers  to  the  high  priest. 


308  THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT. 

coming  out  to  the  court  again,  after  thus  entering  the 
holiest.  He  came  forth,  and  once  more  stood  at  the 
altar.     And  now  he  prepared  to  offer  for  the  people. 

Vers.  15,  16,  17.  "Then  shall  he  kill  the  goat  of  the  sin-offering,  that 
is  for  the  people,  and  bring  his  blood  within  the  veil,  and  do  with 
that  blood  as  he  did  with  the  blood  of  the  bullock,  and  sprinkle  it 
upon  the  mercy-seat,  and  before  the  mercy-seat.  And  he  shall 
make  an  atonement  for  the  holy  place,  because  of  the  uncleanness 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  because  of  their  transgressions  in  all 
their  sins :  and  so  shall  he  do  for  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation 
that  remaineth  among  them  in  the  midst  of  their  uncleanness.  And 
there  shall  be  no  man  in  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation  when 
he  goeth  in  to  make  an  atonement  in  the  holy  place,  until  he  come 
out,  and  have  made  an  atonement  for  himself,  and  for  his  house- 
hold, and  for  all  the  congregation  of  Israel." 

He  now  kills  the  people's  sin-offering,  confessing  over 
it  their  uncleanness,  transgressions  and  sins.  He  enters 
the  most  holy  place,  as  before,  to  sprinkle  the  blood. 
This  he  does  on  the  mercy-seat^  and  also  on  the  floor 
before  it,  or  on  the  side  of  it ;  thus  filling  the  holiest  with 
the  cry  of  atoning  blood.  Over  it  he  stands,  confessing 
Israel's  sin,  with  strong  crying  and  tears ;  he  enumerates 
their  departures  from  the  holy  law,  and  spreads  out  before 
God,  in  the  light  of  his  countenance,  their  endless  sins, 
their  transgressions  of  every  form,  their  uncleanness  of 
deepest  dye.  But  that  blood  sprinkled  there  raises  its 
cry — the  life  of  the  Living  One  is  taken  for  the  guilty — 
and  to  this  blood  Aaron  points  for  pardon.  This  is  none 
other  than  a  G-ethsemane  !  The  man  of  sorrows,  bearing 
our  sins,  is  here.  ''  0  God,  thou  knowest  my  foolishness, 
and  my  sins  are  not  hid  from  thee."  (Ps.  Ixix.  5.) 
*'  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs  and  carried  our  sor- 
rows." "  The  Lord  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all." 
And  his  precious  life — the  life  of  the  true  Living  One — 


CHAPTER  XVI.  809 

is  taken  for  our  life,  and  is  poured  out  before  the  Lord. 
The  cry  of  blood  was  to  rise  both  from  the  floor  below 
and  the  mercy-seat  above ;  so  the  Saviour's  atonement 
pleaded  for  us  both  from  earth  below,  while  he  was  here, 
and  in  heaven  above,  when  he  ascended. 

This  act  of  the  high  priest's  was  reckoned  to  be  a 
cleansing  of  the  Holy  Place  itself.  For  the  presence  of 
guilty  Israel  defiled  the  courts,  and  the  bringing  in  of 
their  case  in  the  person  of  their  representative  was 
reckoned  as  a  defilement.  Therefore,  there  was  need  of 
a  cleansing ;  and  this  took  place  when  their  representative 
was  accepted,  and  all  he  confessed  was  thoroughly  for- 
given. The  forgiveness  went  forth  in  all  its  power 
through  the  holy  place,  carrying  cleansing  virtue  with  it 
to  the  worshippers,  and  to  the  ground  whereon  they 
stood.  But  thus  we  see  how  it  is  written  in  Heb.  ix. 
23,  that  heaven  needed  purification  if  sinners  were  to 
enter,  "  It  was  therefore  necessary  that  the  patterns  of 
things  in  the  heavens  should  be  purified  with  these  ;  but 
the  heavenly  things  themselves  with  better  sacrifices  than 
these ;"  viz.,  as  ver.  24  declares,  by  Christ  himself  en- 
tering into  them  with  the  sacrifice  of  himself. 

This  may  show  us,  by  the  way,  why  Grod  not  only 
drove  out  the  man  from  Eden,  but  removed  Eden  itself 
very  soon.  The  place  was  polluted  by  having  been  the 
scene  of  the  Fall — polluted  by  the  most  heinous  of  sins. 

While  all  this  was  transacting,  no  one  whatsoever  was 
to  be  seen  in  the  court  of  the  tabernacle  round  the  holy 
place — the  Most  Holy.  It  was  to  be  evident  that  the 
priest  alone  made  atonement,  and  none  else.  On  one 
man  dependeth  their  atonement.  How  often  would  the 
idea  of  another  Adam  cross  their  minds — all  leaning  on 
One  I     And  oh,  how  tremblingly  alive  would  they  be  to 


810  THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT. 

the  danger  of  that  one  man,  their  representative,  failing 
in  any  point  of  duty  that  day  !  If  he  fail,  Israel's  guilt 
remains.  The  high  priest  himself  feels  his  awful  re- 
sponsibility ;  if  he  sin  in  this  matter,  he  quenches  the 
light  of  Israel,  extinguishes  their  hopes,  sends  them 
away  in  blank  despair.  This  one  person  is  entrusted 
with  their  life  and  their  all.  And  thus  the  Holy  Spirit 
painted  Jesus  to  the  view  of  those  who  had  clear,  Abra- 
ham-like faith.  He  will  be  alone  in  his  undertaking, 
"  One  for  all.''''  Heaven  and  hell  will  look  on  intensely 
interested ;  for  "  now  is  the  judgment  of  this  world ;" 
now  is  the  crisis  in  the  hopes  of  perishing  men.  He 
himself  feels  the  awful  responsibility,  and  often,  often  as 
he  goes  onward,  raises  a  cry,  "  Make  haste  to  help  me, 
0  my  G-od ;"  "0  my  strength,  haste  thee  to  help  me;" 
''  Save  me  from  the  lion's  mouth." — All  alone  he  stands 
on  Calvary ;  nay,  not  one  draws  near  to  offer  help ;  his 
own  Father  keeps  aloof,  and  the  Mediator  cries,  "  Lover 
and  friend  hast  thou  put  far  from  me,  and  mine  acquaint- 
ance into  darkness. 

The  priest  entered  in  awful  solemnity,  pressed  beneath 
such  a  weight ;  Jesus  also,  in  like  manner,  entered  in 
fear  and  anguish.  But  on  this  very  account,  to  us  all 
bitterness  is  past ;  we  go  boldly  into  the  holiest  of  all 
through  that  blood. 

Vers.  18,  19.  "And  he  shall  go  out  unto  the  altar  that  is  before  the 
Lord,  and  make  an  atonement  for  it :  and  shall  take  of  the  blood 
of  the  bullock,  and  of  the  blood  of  the  goat,  and  put  it  upon  the 
horns  of  the  altar  round  about.  And  lie  shall  s|)rinkle  of  the  blood 
upon  it  with  his  finger  seven  times,  and  cleanse  it,  and  hallow  it 
from  the  uncleanness  of  the  children  of  Israel." 

Some  consider  the  altar  of  incense  to  be  here  meant, 
simply  because  it  is  said,  "  the  altar  that  is  before  the 


CHAPTER  XVI.  311 

Lord.^^  But  this  expression  determines  nothing.  Nay, 
it  applies  to  the  altar  of  sacrifice,  as  being  under  his 
special  eye.  (See  chap.  iv.  24 ;  or  i.  5.)  The  holy  and 
most  holy  have  been  purified  already  ;  we  are  told  now  of 
the  purifying  of  the  courts  and  the  altar. 

Strange  that  the  altar  should  need  to  be  purified ! 
And  yet  what  spot  had  more  connection  with  sin  ?  Was 
not  every  sin  confessed  there  ?  Was  not  every  sin  laid 
down  there  ?  Was  not  that  the  spot  where  wrath  was 
ever  falling  ?  Here  is  a  strange  combination — sin,  and 
the  atonement  for  sin.  It  may  have  been  typical  of  the 
fact,  that  the  foulest  sin  and  the  fullest  atonement  were 
found  at  the  cross.  Never  was  sin  committed  equal  to 
that  of  the  men  who  put  Christ  to  death.  Hell's  darkest 
malignity  and  man's  consummate  infatuation  and  enmity 
were  brought  together  to  form  this  sin.  And  yet  his 
dying  took  away  sin.  Thus,  the  eye  of  Grod  sees  on  that 
spot,  at  one  moment,  the  blackest  of  sins,  and  the  most 
glorious  atonement.  Or,  perhaps,  it  was  meant  simply 
to  show  how  he  that  was  to  make  the  atonement  would 
himself  contract  no  pollution.  The  altar  purified  is  an 
imperfect  way  of  showing  that  Christ  continued  spotless. 

Once  more ;  the  courts  where  the  altar  stood  shared 
in  this  purification.  Earth  must  be  purified,  because 
stained  by  sharing  in  the  murder  of  the  Son  of  Grod. 
When  Jesus  comes  out  from  the  holiest  of  all,  then  it  is 
that  he  shall  purify  these  courts.  It  shall  be  a  thorough 
cleansing ;  even  as  the  blood  was  "  seven  times"  put  on 
the  altar's  horns,  till  in  this  manner  the  cry  for  pardon, 
or  rather  the  cry  for  atonement  accepted,  had  "  seven 
times"  sounded  through  all  the  courts  of  the  tabernacle 
from  the  four  ''horns" — the  emblems  of  strength  and 
power. 


312  THE   DAY   OF  ATONEMENT. 

Vers.  20,  21,  22.  "And  when  he  hath  made  an  end  of  reconciling* 
the  holy  place,  and  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  and  the 
altar,  he  shall  bring  the  live  goat :  and  Aaron  shall  lay  both  his 
hands  upon  the  head  of  the  live  goat,  and  confess  over  him  all  the 
iniquities  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  all  their  transgressions  inf 
all  their  sins,  putting  them  upon  the  head  of  the  goat,  and  shall 
send  him  away  by  the  hand  of  a  fit  man  into  the  wilderness.  And 
the  goat  shall  bear  upon  him  all  their  iniquities  unto  a  land  not 
inhabited :  and  he  shall  let  go  the  goat  in  the  wilderness." 

Aaron  is  now  to  show  atonement  in  another  form.  To 
leave  no  doubt  that  sin  has  been  carried  away,  there  is 
to  be  a  putting  away  of  it  which  the  people  can  see,  as 
there  had  been  one  unseen  in  the  holy  of  holies.  The 
live  goat  is  brought  forward,  and  all  Israel  hear  the  high 
priest's  voice  confessing  their  sins  and  iniquities  and 
transgressions.  Most  solemnly,  and  no  doubt  even  with 
weeping,  did  Aaron  confess  his  people's  sins  over  the 
head  of  the  scape -goat.  He  felt  on  his  heart  the  load 
which  he  was  laying  on  the  victim. 

These  confessed  sins  being  thus  laid  on  its  head,  the 
goat  stood  laden  with  the  curse.  Against  it  alone  will 
the  lightning  be  directed  now — on  this  one  point  will 
vengeance  fall.  Israel  is  now  clear — the  stroke  must 
slope  over  their  heads  toward  their  substitute.  And  a 
"  fit  man,"  one  appointed  for  the  purpose,  leads  it  away 
down  the  courts,  in  presence  of  all  the  people,  slowly  and 
carefully,  till  he  has  gone  out  of  sight  and  reaches  the 
wilds  of  some  rugged  spot,  or  uninhabited  waste.t  The 
^' fit  person''^  returns  and  attests  that  he  left  it  there; 

*  May  Col.  i,  20,  "  By  him  to  reconcile  all  things  to  himself  which  are 
in  heaven,"  be  explained  by  a  reference  to  the  above  transactions  ? 

t  bb'b,  perhaps,  "  according  to  all  their  sins."  As  if  he  were  reading 
the  pages  of  the  book  of  remembrance,  he  must  read  according  to  what 
has  been  actually  recorded. 

X  Some  "  regie  invia,"  or  yrj  dfiaros,  as  the  Septuagint  render  it. 


CHAPTER  XVI.  813 

and  Israel  feels  the  joy  of  pardon.  "Wrath  against  these 
confessed  sins  will  now  alight  in  the  desert,  not  upon 
them.  "  The  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us 
all,''^  is  their  song. 

Here  we  may  remark  the  opinion  of  a  learned  man, 
that  Jesus  driven  into  the  wilderness  to  be  tempted  of 
the  devil  after  the  scene  of  his  baptism,  where  our  sin 
was  openly  confessed  by  him  as  laid  on  himself  is  the 
antitype  of  what  follows  in  the  scape-goat. 

Follow  the  scape-goat,  and  see  its  doom.  Is  there  not 
here  a  criminal  led  along  ?  There  is  something  that 
speaks  of  the  Man  of  Sorrows,  made  sin  for  us.  Is  there 
not  here  a  criminal  led  away  to  unknown  woe  ?  There 
is  something  that  speaks  of  one  "  made  a  curse  for  us." 
"Why  is  he  left  alone,  defenceless,  trembling  amid  a  wil- 
derness ?  There  is  here  enough  to  remind  us  of  Jesus 
left  to  suffer  without  sympathy.  "  He  looked  on  his 
right  hand  and  there  was  none ;  refuge  failed  him ;  no 
man  cared  for  his  soul."  The  scape-goat's  solitary  cry 
is  re-echoed  by  the  barren  rocks,  and  the  howling  of 
beasts  of  prey  terrifies  it  on  all  sides ;  and  the  gloom  of 
night  settles  down  upon  it  and  shrouds  it  in  deeper  terror. 
Perhaps,  too,  it  was  not  uncommon  for  Jehovah  himself 
to  direct  his  lightning's  stroke  toward  this  victim,  and  to 
cause  it  to  perish  amid  the  tempest's  roar.  Wounded  by 
beasts  of  prey,  from  whom  it  has  scarcely  escaped,  it  is 
now  stretched  on  the  ground  by  a  stroke  from  that 
thunder-cloud  (for  "  lightnings  in  the  night"  are  frequent 
in  that  country  at  this  season),  its  eyes  glaring  with 
convulsive  fear,  and  its  piteous  cries  echoing  through  the 
dismal  wilderness.  Perhaps  it  was  generally  thus  that 
the  sin-bearing  scape-goat  died.  "  Lover  and  friend  hast 
thou  put  far  from  me,  and  mine  acquaintance  into  dark- 

14 


314  THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT. 

ness."  And  to  Israel  there  was  the  same  meaning  in  its 
suffering  unto  death  as  the  thief  saw  in  a  dying  Saviour. 
*'  The  victim's  sufferings  are  my  sufferings,"  would  a 
man  of  Israel  say,  even  as  Ambrose  has  said  of  the  thief 
on  the  cross,  ''  Scivit  latro  quod  ilia  in  corpore  Christi 
vulnera  non  essent  Christi  vulnera  sed  latronisP  (Serm. 
de  s.  1.)  "  The  thief  knew  that  those  wounds  in  the 
body  of  Christ  were  not  the  wounds  of  Christy  but  of  the 
thief:' 

Vers.  23,  24,  25,  26,  27,  28.  "  And  Aaron  shall  come  into  the  taber- 
nacle of  the  congregation,  and  shall  put  off  the  linen  garments 
which  he  put  on  when  he  went  into  the  holy  place,  and  shall  leave 
them  there :  and  he  shall  wash  his  flesh  with  water  in  the  holy 
place,  and  put  on  his  garments,  and  come  forth,  and  offer  his  burnt- 
offering,  and  the  burnt- offering  of  the  people,  and  make  an  atone- 
ment for  himself,  and  for  the  people.  And  the  fat  of  the  sin-otfer- 
ing  shall  he  burn  upon  the  altar.  And  he  that  let  go  the  goat  for 
the  scape-goat  shall  wash  his  clothes,  and  bathe  his  flesh  in  water, 
and  afterward  come  into  the  camp.  And  the  bullock  for  the  sin- 
offering,  and  the  goat  for  the  sin-offering,  whose  blood  was  brought 
in  to  make  atonement  in  the  holy  place,  shall  one  carry  forth  without 
the  camp ;  and  they  shall  burn  in  the  fire  their  skins,  and  their 
flesh,  and  their  dung.  And  he  that  burneth  them  shall  wash  his 
clothes,  and  bathe  his  flesh  in  water,  and  afterward  he  shall  come 
into  the  camp." 

All  that  was  absolutely  required  toward  the  people's 
forgiveness  being  now  done,  no  doubt  through  the 
assembled  congregation  there  ran  a  thrill  of  joy  and  ex- 
pectant hope.  All  felt  the  heavy  burden  raised  off  their 
persons  ;  and  they  now  only  waited  for  the  final  issue — 
the  appearing  of  Aaron  in  his  robes  of  beauty.  Thus  far 
it  was  as  when  Jesus  cried,  "  It  is  finished  :"  but  one 
thing  remains  ;  let  him  return  in  his  glorious  person,  no 
more  connected  with  sin,  shining  in  the  beams  of  the 
Father's  love.    This  he  did  on  the  third  day  when  he  rose. 


CHAPTER  XVI.  815 

Aaron  had  gone  into  the  holy  place,  and  there  laid 
aside  his  linen  garments,  and  washed  his  person  in  pure 
water,  preparatory  to  his  coming  forth  again — a  type  of 
Jesus  laying  aside  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  ceas- 
ing from  all  connection  with  sin.  Putting  on  his  other 
garments,  which  were  embroidered  with  gold,  he  appeared 
in  glory ;  for  the  sunbeams  fell  bright  and  dazzling  on 
his  golden  mitre  and  on  his  gold-adorned  vestments, 
expressive  of  the  acceptance  and  favor  of  G-od  shining  on 
him  as  representative  and  head  of  Israel.  As  their  ac- 
cepted intercessor,  he  completed  that  day's  solemn  atone- 
ment by  offering  up  his  own  burnt-offering  and  the  burnt- 
offering  for  the  people,  showing  thereby  that  there  was 
free  access  opened  up  to  Israel  by  one ;  and  that  one 
stood  as  priest  over  them.  Then,  in  sight  of  all,  he  burnt 
"  the  fat ;"  that  is,  the  two  kidneys  and  the  fat  on  them 
(iii.  10),  and  all  the  fat  about  the  inwards,  that  the 
blazing  flame  of  these  portions  of  the  sacrifice  might 
indicate  the  dedication  of  his  whole  heart  and  inmost 
desires,  all  sent  up  in  one  flame  to  God.  And  while  he 
was  thus  engaged,  the  man  who  had  carried  away  the 
scape-goat  showed  himself  at  the  gate  of  the  camp,  tes- 
tifying that  he  had  fulfilled  his  commission.  So  truly 
had  the  sin  laid  on  the  goat  been  transferred  to  it,  that 
this  man  was  polluted  by  being  at  its  side  !  (So  in  Num. 
xix.  8.)  But  having  bathed  himself  in  pure  water,  to 
show  that  all  connection  between  him  and  the  sin-bearing 
goat  had  ceased,  he  now  entered  among  the  worshippers 
as  a  man  who  could  testify  that  their  sins  had  been  laid 
there  and  were  carried  away. 

Last  of  all^  the  relics  of  the  offering  already  presented, 
viz.,  of  the  bullock  and  goat  sin-offering,  are  removed. 
The  sacrifices  were  offered,  the  blood  sprinkled,  the  scape- 


816  THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT. 

goat  sent  to  its  desert ;  the  burnt-offerings  were  blazing 
on  the  altar ;  the  fat  of  the  offerings  was  consuming 
away  ;  the  conductor  of  the  scape-goat  present  to  testify 
to  the  completeness  of  the  transference  of  sin — like 
ministers  who  are  "  eye-witnesses  of  Christ's  sufferings, 
and  partakers  of  the  effects."  What  then  remained,  but 
only  to  remove  the  relics  of  the  sacrifices  that  began  that 
day's  solemn  proceedings  ?  It  is  soon  done.  The  relics 
are  carried  out  of  the  camp  and  burned  there,  in  the  place 
of  the  curse  (see  chap.  iv.  12),  leaving  all  Israel  assured 
that  their  own  and  Aaron's  sins  are  forever  gone — the 
smoke  bending  its  curling  volumes  towards  the  wilder- 
ness, as  far  from  view  as  the  scape-goat  that  bore  thither 
its  heavy  load.  And  thus,  all  done,  the  sun  sets  in  still- 
ness over  a  calm,  solemnized,  and  peaceful  camp. 

It  had  been  a  wondrous  day  from  the  very  first  dawn 
to  the  last  streak  of  the  settinoj  sun.  At  the  third  hour 
of  the  morning  (nine  o'clock)  every  street  or  way  of  the 
camp  had  been  trodden  by  a  people  going  up  to  peculiar 
service — each  moving  along  serious  and  awe-struck.  As 
many  as  the  courts  could  contain  enter — specially  aged 
men  and  fathers  of  Israel ;  the  rest  stand  in  thousands 
near,  or  sit  in  groups  under  green  bushes  and  on  little 
eminences  that  overlook  the  enclosing  curtains.  Some 
are  in  the  attitude  of  prayer ;  some  are  pondering  the 
book  of  the  law ;  some,  like  Hannah,  move  their  lips, 
though  no  word  is  heard  ;  all  are  ever  and  again  glancing 
at  the  altar,  and  the  array  of  the  courts.  Even  children 
sit  in  wonder,  and  whisper  their  inquiries  to  their  parents. 
The  morning  sacrifice  is  offered  ;  the  priest's  bullock  and 
ram  standing  by,  and  other  victims  besides.  They  wait 
in  expectation  of  what  is  to  follow  when  the  smoke  of  the 
morning  lamb  has  melted  into  the  clouds.     They  see  the 


CHAPTEK  XVI.  817 

lots  cast  on  the  two  goats,  the  priest  enter  the  sanctuary 
with  his  own  offering,  and  return  amid  the  tremblings  of 
Israel,  who  all  feel  that  they  are  concerned  in  his  accept- 
ance. They  see  one  goat  slain  and  its  blood  carried  in. 
The  scape-goat  is  then  led  down  their  trembling  ranks, 
out  of  the  camp  ;  and  at  length  Aaron  re-appears  to  their 
joy.  The  murmur  of  delight  now  spreads  along,  like  the 
pleasant  ruffling  of  the  water's  surface  in  the  breeze  of 
a  summer's  evening.  The  silver  trumpets  sound — the 
evening  lamb  is  offered ;  Israel  feels  the  favor  of  their 
God,  and  returns  home  to  rest  under  his  shadow.  ''  0 
Lord,  thou  wast  angry  v/ith  me,  but  thine  anger  is  turned 
away,  and  thou  comfortest  me." 

How  intensely  interesting  to  have  seen  this  day  kept 
in  Jerusalem !  The  night  before,  you  would  have  seen 
the  city  become  silent  and  still,  as  the  sun  set.  No 
lingerers  in  the  market ;  no  traders ;  no  voice  of  business. 
The  watchmen  that  go  about  the  city  sing  the  penitential 
psalms,  reminding  themselves  of  their  own  and  the  city's 
secret  sins,  seen  through  the  darkness  by  an  all-seeing 
G-od  ;  and  the  Levites  from  the  temple  sing  responsively 
as  they  walk  round  the  courts.  Though  the  sun  has  risen 
over  the  Mount  of  Olives,  none  are  seen  in  the  streets ;  no 
smoke  rises  from  any  dwelling ;  no  hum  of  busy  noise ; 
for  no  work  is  done  on  a  holy  convocation  day.  The 
melody  of  joy  and  health  ascends  from  the  tabernacles  of 
the  righteous.  But  at  the  hour  of  morning  sacrifice,  the 
city  pours  out  its  thousands,  who  move  solemnly  toward 
the  temple,  or  repair  to  the  heights  of  Zion's  towers,  or 
the  grassy  slopes  of  Olivet,  that  they  may  witness  as  well 
as  join  in  all  the  day's  devotion.  They  see  the  service 
proceed — they  see  the  scape-goat  led  away — they  see  the 
priest  come  out  of  the  holy  place ;  and  at  this  comforting 


318  THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT. 

sight  every  head  in  the  vast,  vast  multitude  is  bowed  in 
solemn  thankfulness,  and  every  heart  moves  the  lips  to 
a  burst  of  joy.  The  trumpet  for  the  evening  sacrifice 
sounds ;  Olivet  re-echoes ;  the  people  on  its  bosom  see 
the  city  and  the  altar,  and  v^eep  for  very  gladness ;  all 
know  it  is  the  hour  for  the  evening  blessing.  When  the 
sun  set  an  angel  might  have  said  to  his  fellow,  "  Look 
upon  Zion,  the  city  of  solemnities !  behold  Jerusalem,  a 
quiet  habitation !" 


Vers.  29,  30,  31,  82,  33,  34.  "And  this  shall  be  a  statute  forever  unto 
you,  that  in  the  seventh  month,  on  the  tenth  day  of  the  month,  ye 
shall  afflict  your  souls,  and  do  no  work  at  all,  whether  it  be  one  of 
your  own  country,  or  a  stranger  that  sojourneth  among  you.  For 
on  that  day  shall  the  priest  make  an  atonement  for  you,  to  cleanse 
you,  that  ye  may  be  clean  from  all  your  sins  before  the  Lord.  It 
shall  be  a  Sabbath  of  rest  unto  you,  and  ye  shall  afflict  your  souls, 
by  a  statute  forever.  And  the  priest,  whom  he  shall  anoint,  and 
whom  he  shall  consecrate  to  minister  in  the  priest's  office  in  his 
father's  stead,  shall  make  the  atonement,  and  shall  put  on  the  linen 
clothes,  even  the  holy  garments  :  and  he  shall  make  an  atonement 
for  the  holy  sanctuary,  and  he  shall  make  an  atonement  for  the  taber- 
nacle of  the  congregation,  and  for  the  altar ;  and  he  shall  make  an 
atonement  for  the  priest,  and  for  all  the  people  of  the  congregation. 
And  this  shall  be  an  everlasting  statute  unto  you,  to  make  an  atone- 
ment for  the  children  of  Israel,  for  all  their  sins  once  a  year.  And 
he  did  as  the  Lord  commanded  Moses." 

We  see  in  ver.  29,  that  the  true  heart-service  of  the 
day  was  enjoined  as  much  as  the  external  observances — 
as  much  "  afflicting  their  soitls^''''*  as  ''  doing  no  work 
at  allP  Nor  was  the  presence  of  strangers  to  be  the 
least  hindrance ;  our  friends  must  join  us  in  G-od's  ser- 
vice, but  no  politeness  must  lead  us  to  leave  G-od  for 
them. 

*  See  chap,  xxiii.  29. 


CHAPTER  XVI.  819 

Once  a  year  all  these  rites  were  to  be  observed.  The 
seventh  month  was  to  be  to  them  as  memorable  as  the 
seventh  day  of  every  week.  The  Prophet  Isaiah  very 
sorely  reproves  the  neglected  observance  of  this  holy  day 
in  chap.  Iviii.  He  says,  ver.  3,  "  In  the  day  of  your  fast 
ye  find  pleasure,"  not  afflicting  your  souls,  "  and  exact 
all  your  demands  of  labor,"  instead  of  doing  no  work  at 
all.  Grod  saw  them  in  their  houses,  and  observed  that 
they  secretly  carried  on  their  worldly  business,  and  that 
their  soul  was  unhumbled.  Hence,  he  says,  "  Ye  shall 
not  fast  as  ye  do  this  day.  Is  it  such  a  fast  that  I  have 
chosen^  a  day  for  a  man  to  afflict  his  soul  .^"  That  is. 
Is  it  such  a  fast  as  yours?  Is  that  like  a  day  of  soul- 
affliction  ?  your  bowing  down  your  head  as  a  bulrush  ? 
And  ye  have  added  external  rites  of  your  own,  to  hide 
the  inward  leanness,  ^'putting  sackcloth  and  ashes  under 
you''''  (ver.  5).  "Nay,"  saith  the  Lord,  "loose  the  bur- 
dens which  ye  wickedly  impose  on  the  poor,  and  set  free 
the  bankrupt,*  and  thus  make  the  day  a  real  Sabbath. 
Also,  let  the  poor  have  food  (ver.  7),  and  help  thy  im- 
poverished brother.  Then,  indeed,  thou  mayest  expect 
to  feel  the  joy  of  the  expiation-day  (vers.  8,  9),  and  all 
the  year  long  thou  shalt  be  kept  and  blessed  (vers.  11, 
12)."  As  surely  as  morn  arose,  after  the  atonement-day 
was  done ;  and  as  surely  as  in  the  year  of  release  that 
morn  was  ushered  in  with  the  joyful  notes  of  jubilee,  so 
certainly  should  they  have  reaped  the  blessing.  Oh  !  if 
thou  wouldst  keep  all  his  solemn  Sabbaths,  how  blessed 

*  This  may  refer  to  the  times  when  the  year  of  jubilee,  "  the  year  of 
release,"  began  on  the  evening  of  the  day  of  atonement.  Giving  food  to 
the  poor  (ver.  7),  marked  the  year  of  jubilee  also  (Exod.  xxiii,  11).  The 
prophet  chooses  such  a  time,  when  there  was  double  obligation  on  a  Jew, 
in  order  to  show  their  hypocrisy  in  a  more  marked  form. 


320  THE  DAY   OF  ATONEMENT. 

wouldst  thou  be  (ver.  13,  14) ;  and  thy  land  a  land  of 
fruitfulness  to  thee  I 

''  Happy  art  thou,  0  Israel,  a  people  saved  of  the 

Lord !" 


Ctie  %iBt  nf  Iniinal  jFnni  Htgulatt  * 


"  WHETHER  THEREFORE  YE  EAT,  OR  DRINK,  OR  WHATSOEVER  TE  DO,  DO  ALL  TO 
THE  GLORY  OF  GOD." 1  Cor.  X.  31. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Vers.  1,  2,  3,  4, 5.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Speak  unto 
Aaron,  and  unto  his  sons,  and  unto  all  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
say  unto  them.  This  is  the  thing  which  the  Lord  hath  commanded, 
saying,  What  man  soever  there  be  of  the  house  of  Israel,  that  kill- 
eth  an  ox,  or  lamb,  or  goat,  in  the  camp,  or  that  killeth  it  out  of  the 
camp,  and  bringeth  it  not  unto  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the 
congregation,  to  offer  an  offering  unto  the  Lord  before  the  taber- 
nacle of  the  Lord,  blood  shall  be  imputed  imto  that  man ;  he  hath 
shed  blood  ;  and  that  man  shall  be  cut  off  from  among  his  people  : 
to  the  end  that  the  children  of  Israel  may  bring  their  sacrifices, 
which  they  offer  in  the  open  field,  even  that  they  may  bring  them 
unto  the  Lord,  unto  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation, 
unto  the  priest,  and  offer  them  for  peace-offerings  unto  the  Lord," 

Here  the  people  are  addressed,  as  well  as  Aaron  and 
his  sons ;  for  it  was  needfal  to  show  them  that  in  requi- 
sitions that  affected  their  private  affairs,  the  scrutiny  was 
made  by  the  all-seeing  God.  It  was  important  that  the 
people  should  see  plainly  that  this  inspection  of  private 

*  We  may  call  this  portion  of  the  book  the  second  section  of  the  Leviti- 
cal  code.  The  public  services  of  the  worshipper  are  over.  Here  begin  some 
rules  affecting  their  private  morality  and  their  secret  devotions. 

14# 


822      USE  OF  ANIMAL  FOOD  EEGULATED. 

matters  was  the  Lord's  ordinance,  not  instituted  by  the 
priests  nor  by  Moses.  They  would  naturally  be  more 
jealous  in  regard  to  those  institutions  that  touched  upon 
their  domestic  habits. 

There  was  little  flesh  used  as  common  food  in  these 
eastern  countries ;  it  was  used  chiefly  on  feast  days.* 
Hence  the  restrictions  here  were  not  burdensome.  And 
when  they  reached  Canaan,  if  they  needed  more  animal 
food,  and  were  further  off  from  the  tabernacle,  these 
restrictions  ceased,  as  Deut.  xii.  13-15  declares,  and  as 
the  constant  use  of  "  camp"  in  this  place  might  lead  us 
to  suppose.  The  grand  object  of  the  law  was  to  prevent 
idolatry.  Heathen  nations  (see  Ps.  xvi.  4)  used  to  take 
the  blood  of  animals  and  pour  it  into  a  hole  or  trench  in 
the  earth,  for  food  to  their  gods  ;t  and  there  the  dead 
were  consulted.  Now,  a  law  like  this  ensured  that  the 
blood  should  not  be  so  used.  The  ox,  sheep,  and  goat 
(ver.  3)  are  selected  as  specimens;  but  no  doubt  any 
species  of  animal  food  was  subjected  to  the  same  restric- 
tions. They  came  with  the  animal  to  the  door  of  the 
tabernacle ;  saw  God  revealing  himself  there  ;  left  the 
blood  as  an  offering  to  him  ;  and  then  returned  home  to 
their  tent  to  feast.  How  solemn  and  how  sweet  to  a  true 
Israelite  !  He  brings  his  food  to  the  Lord,  sees  his  ma- 
jesty, acknowledges  himself  worthy  to  die,  but  redeemed 
by  atoning  blood ;  and  thus  goes  to  his  table  and  eats  his 
meat  with  gladness  and  singleness  of  heart !  All  their 
meat  became  a  "  peace-oflering,"  ver.  5. 

*  It  has  been  noticed  by  some  that  Reuben,  Gad,  and  half  Manasseh 
were  the  only  tribes  that  had  herds  (Num.  xxxii.) ;  the  other  tribes  pos- 
sessed very  few,  and  may  even  have  borrowed  from  these  when  they 
needed  sacrifices. 

t  As  we  863  in  Homer's  celebrated  Ne«vta. 


CHAPTER  XVII.  823 

Are  we  not  here  taught  the  duty  of  coming  to  the 
Lord  at  every  season  of  food  ?  owning  him  as  preserver  ? 
feeling  that  blood  has  redeemed  our  life  ?  and  so  going 
forward  with  hearts  ever  impressed  and  awed  ?  We 
should  eat  our  daily  bread  in  his  presence.*  We  should 
remember  the  time  when  the  grant  of  animal  food  was 
made,  viz.,  after  the  deluge  ;  and  thus  we  would  feel  our 
common  food  to  be  a  memorial  of  wrath  passed  and  new 
mercy  begun. 

In  ver.  5,  "  the  sacrifices  in  the  open  field^^''  mean  all 
things  slain  ;  which  they  had  hitherto  killed  anywhere, 
at  home  or  publicly.  These  are  now  to  be  presented  as 
peace-offerings  ;  that  is,  they  are  to  be  presented  to  the 
Lord  through  the  priest,  and  then  given  back  to  him,  like 
as  was  done  in  the  case  of  peace-offerings. 

Ver.  6.  "  And  the  priest  shall  sprinlcle  the  blood  upon  the  altar  of  the 
Lord,  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  and  burn 
the  fat  for  a  sweet  savor  unto  the  Lord." 

The  fat  and  the  hlood  are  taken ;  see  chap.  iii.  17. 
When  this  is  done,  the  blessing  rests  on  them ;  ''  sioeet 
savof^  breathes  from  them. 

Ver.  Y.  "  And  they  shall  no  more  offer  their  sacrifices  unto  devils,  after 
whom  they  have  gone  a  whoring.  This  shall  be  a  statute  forever 
unto  them  throughout  their  generations." 

The  word  here  rendered  "  devils ^^"^  C3''*l3)\a,  is  equivalent 
to  "  goat-godsP  It  is  originally  used  of  "  goats  ;"  shaggy 
goats,  whose  appearance  gave  origin  to  the  heathen  idea 

*  Cud  worth  on  the  Passover  suggests  that  the  coming  up  to  the  three 
annual  feasts  effected  the  same  end  when  Israel  reached  Canaan ;  for,  then, 
they  came  up  and  eat  before  God,  and  carried  home  the  solemn  impres- 
sions then  made  for  the  rest  of  the  year. 


824    THE  USE  OF  ANIMAL  FOOD  EEGULATED. 

of  satyrs*  No  doubt  the  Lord  called  heathen  gods  by 
this  name,  to  cast  contempt  upon  them ;  and  also  the 
devils^  or  fallen  angels,  who  suggested  and  fostered  the 
idolatry  of  the  heathen,  were  denominated  by  this  term. 
Besides ;  goats  were  worshipped  in  Egypt.  Various 
passages  show  that  the  Jews  had  gone  aside  to  such 
idolatry  during  their  sojourn  in  Egypt ;  and  that  they 
manifested  a  tendency  to  this  same  apostasy  stilLt 

The  Lord  who  says  of  disciples,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye 
have  done  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these^  ye  have  done  it 
unto  me,"  says  in  like  manner,  "  If  ye  sacrifice  to  one  of 
these  idolatrous  gods,  ye  sacrifice  to  the  devils  who  have 
suggested  them.'*  The  Lord  saw,  at  the  same  time,  how 
the  devils  allured  Israel  to  make  this  idolatrous  use  of 
the  blood,  in  order  to  bring  atonement  into  disregard  ;  or, 
in  order  to  get  them  to  suppose  that  devils  needed  to  be, 
and  could  be,  thus  appeased  and  bribed  to  leave  them 
unhurt. 

Vers.  8,  9.  "  And  thou  shalt  say  unto  them,  Whatsoever  man  there  be 
of  the  house  of  Israel,  or  of  the  strangers  which  sojourn  among  you, 
that  offereth  a  burnt-oflering  or  sacrifice,  and  bringeth  it  not  unto 
the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  to  offer  it  unto  the 
Lord ;  even  that  man  shall  be  cut  off  from  among  his  people." 

This  law  is  different  from  the  foregoing.  It  refers  to 
animals  offered  in  sacrifice.  All  sacrifice  must  be  offered 
*'  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle,"  that  is,  in  the  presence 
of  Jehovah,  and  to  him  alone.  Some  might  have  tried 
to  evade  the  law  already  given  by  pretending  that  they 
killed  their  animals  for  sacrifice,  and  so  w^ere  free  to  pour 
out  the  blood  at  the  spot  where  they  offered  sacrifice ; 

*  Robertson  in  his  Clavis  Pent,  adds  " monJceys'  to  the  class  of  hairy 
deities. 

f  See  Deut.  xxxii.  16,  Ps.  evi.  37,  Amos  v.  25,  Ezek.  xx.  1. 


CHAPTEE  XVII.  825 

therefore,  the  Lord  commands  all  sacrifices  to  be  offered 
at  one  spot,  viz.,  his  own  presence.  And,  lest  strangers 
should  mislead  them,  the  law  is  laid  on  strangers  too. 
The  Lord  is  full  and  sincere  in  all  he  enjoins ;  he  never 
intends  reserve  or  mystery  in  his  demands.  His  name  is 
glorious.  We  can  trust  his  heart ;  for  he  tells  us  plainly 
all  he  means.  And  surely  not  less  true  are  his  promises 
of  life — his  life-giving  offers. 

Vers.  10,  11,  12.  "  And  whatsoever  man  there  be  of  the  house  of  Israel, 
or  of  the  strangers  that  sojourn  among  you,  that  eateth  any  manner 
of  blood,  I  will  even  set  my  face  against  that  soul  that  eateth  blood, 
and  will  cut  him  off  from  among  his  people.  For  the  life  of  the 
flesh  is  in  the  blood ;  and  I  have  given  it  to  you  upon  the  altar  to 
make  an  atonement  for  your  souls  ;*  for  it  is  the  blood  that  maketh 
an  atonement  for  the  soul.  Therefore  I  said  unto  the  children  of 
Israel,  No  soul  of  you  shall  eat  blood,  neither  shall  any  stranger 
that  sojourneth  among  you  eat  blood." 

A  former  law  is  re-instituted  or  enforced  afresh.  (See 
chap.  iii.  17,  and  vii.  26.)  While  they  must  guard 
against  pouring  out  the  blood  to  idols,  they  must  equally 
guard  against  using  it  for  themselves,  in  the  haste  of 
hunger,  doing  as  Saul's  soldiers  are  related  to  have  done. 
(1  Sam.  xiv.  32.) 

The  grand  reason  for  this  jealousy  over  the  use  of  the 

*  Sykes  on  'Sacrifices  has  collected  some  interesting  quotations  to  show 
the  general  prevalence  of  the  idea  of  substitution.  The  Egyptians  said 
over  the  victim,  "fij  Kecpa'Sr/v  ravrnv  TO  KaKov  rpaneffdai."  Herod.  ii.  39.  In 
Ovid  Fast.  vi.  161,  we  read,  "Cor  pro  corde  precor,  pro  fibris  sumite 
fibras ;  Hanc  animam  vobis  pro  meliore  damus."  CfBsar  says  of  the  Gauls, 
"  Pro  vita  hominis  nisi  vita  hominis  reddatur  non  posse  deoruni  immor- 
talium  numen  placari  arbitrantur."  (B.  G.  vi.  15.)  Magee  quotes  from 
Plautus  Epid. 

"  Men'  piaculum  oportet,  fieri  propter  stultitiam  tuam, 
Ut  meum  tergum  stultitiae  tuse  subdas  succedaneum." 
And  Porphyry  uses  " ^pv^riv  dvTi  ipvxns" 


326    THE  USE  OF  ANIMAL  FOOD  KEGULATED. 

blood  is,  *'  The  blood  is  the  lifeP  When  poured  out,  it 
shows  atonement ;  for  it  expresses  the  life  taken  ;  "  Thou 
shalt  die."  To  you,  sinner,  what  should  be  more  tre- 
mendous than  the  sign  of  your  own  life  taken  ?  And  to 
your  God,  0  sinner,  nothing  is  more  solemnly  glorious 
than  the  blood  of  his  own  Son.  Earth  and  heaven  stand 
still  when  blood  is  poured  out. 

When  the  spear  reached  the  heart  of  Jesus,  the  blood 
was  poured  out  from  the  very  seat  of  life.  The  heart 
and  the  pericardium  were  both  pierced,  and,  therefore, 
the  blood  that  then  gushed  forth  with  the  liquid  fluid  of 
the  pericardium  was  blood  from  the  warm  seat  of  vitality. 
See  John  xix.  34.  And  as  such  was  the  type,  so  the 
reality.  Jesus  did  then  pour  forth  his  whole  soul ;  affec- 
tions, feelings,  faculties,  and  every  power  of  his  soul,  all 
were  laid  down  in  suffering  obedience  to  his  Father.  The 
heat  of  wrath  melted  all ;  and  all  thus  melted  flowed 
forth  in  that  wondrous  stream.  The  law  took  out  its 
penalty  from  the  very  source  of  life. 

But  why  life  taken  ?  Why  "  death"  required  ?  Be- 
cause the  essence  of  sin  is  an  attack  on  G-od's  holy  throne 
and  his  very  existence.  It  is,  therefore,  repelled  by  God 
crushing  the  sinner's  life.  And  Jesus  bore  even  this  for 
man !     "Ye  have  slain  the  Prince  of  Life  .'" 

Yet  more,  however.  How  astounding  must  our  Lord's 
words  have  been  to  the  Jews  :  "  Except  ye  ...  .  drink 
the  blood  of  the  Son  of  Man,  ye  have  no  life  in  youP 
(John  vi.  53.)  He  abrogates  the  law,  for  he  fulfils  the 
type  !  You  must  live  by  blood  now  !  You  are  to  drink 
the  poured  out  life  of  the  Son  of  Man. 

Vers.  13,  14.  "  And  whatsoever  man  there  be  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
or  of  the  strangers  that  sojourn  among  you,  which  hunteth,  and 
catcheth  any  beast  or  fowl  that  may  be  eaten ;  he  shall  even  pour 


CHAPTER  XVII.  827 

out  the  blood  thereof,  and  cover  it  with  dust.  For  it  is  the  life  of 
all  flesh ;  the  blood  of  it  is  for  the  life  thereof:  therefore  I  said  unto 
the  children  of  Israel,  Ye  shall  eat  the  blood  of  no  manner  of  flesh : 
for  the  life  of  all  flesh  is  the  blood  thereof:  whosoever  eateth  it 
shall  be  cut  off." 

Another  opportunity  is  taken  of  solemnly  charging 
Israel  to  remember  the  blood  of  atonement.  The  hunter 
in  his  full  career  must  keep  atonement  in  his  eye ;  and, 
when  he  has  his  prey  in  his  hand,  must  reverently  stand 
still  and  pour  out  its  blood  to  Jehovah,  to  cover  it  from 
the  gaze  of  men  and  the  ravenous  appetite  of  creatures  of 
prey.  God  would  have  the  sinner's  soul  send  up  its 
adoring  thanks  to  him  for  atonement  amid  their  forests, 
and  in  their  wilds.  Redemption  should  be  sung  of  by 
every  man  in  every  situation ;  and  none  should  be  found 
in  a  situation  wherein  he  cannot  sing  the  song  of  Moses 
and  the  Lamb. 

Israel's  huntsmen  were  to  be  men  of  faith.  They  were 
not  to  hunt  for  the  gratifying  of  wild  fiery  passions  ;  but 
for  food  and  necessity.  The  chastening  solemnity  of 
^'pouring  out  the  hlood)''  was  a  check  on  the  huntsman. 
None  who  would  not  stay,  in  their  vehement,  eager,  keen 
pursuit,  to  realize  redemption  must  engage  in  this  employ- 
ment. It  is  not  for  the  gay,  wild  spirits  of  youth ;  or, 
if  fiery  youth  engage  therein,  it  must  lead  them  to  the 
most  solemn  views  of  sin  and  righteousness.  Yea,  it 
shall  be  even  a  way  of  life  to  them.  Let  them  go — let 
them  ride  furiously  over  rock  and  chasm — let  them  shoot 
the  arrow — but,  lo !  the  field  becomes  an  avenue  to  lead 
them  to  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Grod.  They  must 
stand  still  at  the  blood!  "He  taketh  them  in  their 
craftiness."  After  his  most  ardent  chase,  in  the  recess 
of  the  forest,  the  huntsman  of  Israel  meets  with  Grod  ! 


828    THE  USE  OF  ANIMAL  FOOD  EEGULATED. 

Vers.  15,  16.  "And  every  soul  that  eateth  that  which  died  of  itself, 
or  that  which  was  torn  with  beasts,  whether  it  be  one  of  your  own 
country,  or  a  stranger,  he  shall  both  wash  his  clothes  and  bathe 
himself  in  water,  and  be  unclean  until  the  even  :  then  shall  he  be 
clean.  But  if  he  wash  them  not,  nor  bathe  his  flesh,  then  he  shall 
bear  his  iniquity.'' 

The  reason  of  this  law  is,  that  the  blood  is  left  in  the 
body,  if  the  animal  die  of  itself  or  be  torn  to  death.  So 
also,  if  strangled  ;  see  Acts  xv.  20,  the  blood  coagulat- 
ing in  the  veins  and  arteries.  He  that  violates  this  law, 
even  ignorantly,  is  guilty.  He  must  forthwith  wash  in 
water  and  be  unclean  till  evening.  And  the  reflection 
awakened — the  jealousy  begotten — the  view  of  atone- 
ment given — by  his  being  that  day  set  apart,  will  leave 
its  indelible  impressions  on  the  man  of  Israel,  that  he 
may  ever  after  walk  with  his  eye  solemnly  resting  on 
atoning  blood. 


^nnnte  HtA  Domtstir  dDliligotinns. 


PURITY  m  EVERY  RELATION   OF   LIFE. 


"  NOT  IN  THE  LUST  OF  CONCUPISCENCE,  EVEN  AS  THE  GENTILES  "WHICH  KNOW 
NOT  GOD  :  THAT  NO  MAN  GO  BEYOND  AND  DEFRAUD  HIS  BROTHER  IN  ANY  MAT- 
TER, BECAUSE  THAT  THE  LORD  IS  THE  AVENGER  OF  ALL  SUCH,  AS  WE  ALSO  HAVE 
FOREWARNED  YOU  AND  TESTIFIED.  FOR  GOD  HATH  NOT  CALLED  US  UNTO  UN- 
CLEANNESS,  BUT  UNTO  HOLINESS." — 1  Thess.  iv.  5-7. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Vers.  1,  2,  3,  4,  5.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Speak 
unto  the  children  of  Israel,  and  say  unto  them,  I  am  the  Lord  your 
God.  After  the  doings  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  wherein  ye  dwelt, 
shall  ye  not  do  :  and  after  the  doings  of  the  land  of  Canaan,  whither 
I  bring  you,  shall  ye  not  do  ;  neither  shall  ye  walk  in  their  ordi- 
nances. Ye  shall  do  my  judgments  *  and  keep  mine  ordinances, 
to  walk  therein :  I  am  the  Lord  your  God.  Ye  shall  therefore 
keep  my  statutes,  and  my  judgments  :  which  if  a  man  do,  he  shall 
live  in  them :  I  am  the  Lord." 

The  Lord  prefaces  the  laws  he  is  to  lay  down  in  this 
chapter  by  very  solemn  declarations  of  his  sovereignty, 
"  I  am  Jehovah,''^  and  of  his  relation  to  them  as  a  recon- 
ciled God,  "  /  am  your  God.''''     He  sets  before  them  his 

*  The  general  principles  and  precepts  are,  G'^/DStl3?3  "judgments ;"  the 
"statutes,'^  nipn,  are  special  details  under  these  heads.  Others  say 
taBUJ^  is  what  'your  very  nature  binds  you  to  observe,  and  pTi,  what 
depends  on  the  arbitrary  appointment  of  God. 


830  PEIVATE  AND  DOMESTIC  OBLIGATIONS. 

authority  and  his  constraining  love.  He  knows  our 
frame ;  and  he  sees  that  man  resents  interference  with 
his  liberty  in  daily  life  and  private  actions,  more  than  in 
anything  else ;  therefore,  to  silence  objection,  and  to 
draw  the  will,  he  adduces  his  sovereignty  and  his  love. 

Besides,  nothing  is  so  directly  fitted  to  subdue  lust  as 
a  full  recognition  of  the  glorious  Grodhead  and  his 
presence  in  the  soul.  The  sweetness  and  blessedness 
of  a  present  G-od  causes  a  holy,  heavenly  satisfaction  in 
the  soul  that  altogether  banishes  impure  desire.  Hence 
2  Peter  i.  4,  '•'•Partakers  of  the  divine  nature^  having- 
escaped  the  corruption  that  is  in  the  world  through 
lusty^  And  in  Rom.  i.  23,  24,  the  root  of  uncleanness 
is  said  to  be,  *'  They  changed  the  glory  of  the  incorrup- 
tible God."  In  vers.  25,  26,  the  origin  of  vile  affections 
is  declared  to  be,  "  They  changed  the  truth  of  God  into 
a  lie,  and  served  the  creature ;"  and  in  ver.  28,  29,  it  is 
plainly  stated,  that  their  not  liking  to  retain  God  in 
their  knowledge  was  the  cause  of  the  "things  not  con- 
venient, unrighteousness,  fornication,"  that  followed. 

In  ver.  5,  he  subjoins  another  motive,  namely,  life  to 
be  found  in  them.  This  might  mean,  here,  that  God's 
appointments  are  the  sinner's  sign-posts,  by  which  he 
learns  how  to  go  to  the  city  of  refuge,  and  how  to  keep 
on  the  way  of  holiness.  But  if,  as  most  think,  we  are  to 
take,  in  this  place,  the  words  "  live  in  them^''  as  meaning 
"  eternal  life  to  be  got  by  them,"  the  scope  of  the  passage 
is,  that  so  excellent  are  God's  laws,  and  every  special, 
minute  detail  of  these  laws,  that  if  a  man  were  to  keep 
these  always  and  perfectly^  the  very  keeping  would  be 

*  The  original  implies  that  ''partakers  of  the  divine  nature''  are  ^'fleers 
from— fugitives  from  the  corruption — the  lustful  corruption — that  is  in 
the  world." 


CHAPTER  XVIII.  831 

eternal  life  to  him.  And  the  quotations  in  Rom.  x.  5, 
and  Gal.  iii.  12,  would  seem  to  determine  this  to  be  the 
true  and  only  sense  here. 

Ver.  6.    "  None  of  you  shall  approach  to  any  that  is  near  of  kin  to  him, 
to  uncover  their  nakedness  :  I  am  the  Lord." 

The  "  nearness  of  kin,"  is  sister,  mother,  daughter ; 
the  woman  being  born  of  the  same  flesh  as  the  man  is. 
(Patrick.)  The  following  Latin  lines  (quoted  in  Poli 
Synopsis)  sum  up  the  forbidden  degrees : — 

"  Nata,  Soror,  neptis,  matertera,  fratris  et  uxor, 
Et  patrui  conjunx,  mater  privigna,  noverca, 
Uxorisque  soror,  privigni  nata,  nurusque, 
Atque  soror  patris,  conjungi  lege  vitantur." 

The  Lord  again  sets  forth  his  authority  in  beginning 
to  enter  upon  the  details  that  follow.  By  his  divine 
authority  he  issues  these  laws.  And  they  are  still  bind- 
ing. 1.  They  are  really  no  more  than  an  amplification 
of  the  seventh  commandment.  The  different  channels 
in  which  lust  might  flow  are  pointed  out,  and  then  filled 
up — choked  up — by  the  divine  prohibition.  2.  They  are 
not  ceremonial  precepts,  and  therefore  they  are  perma- 
nent in  their  obligations.  They  bind  all  nations,  even 
as  does  the  seventh  commandment.  3.  They  are  so  truly 
moral  obligations,  that  in  vers.  24,  25,  the  Canaanites 
are  stamped  with  infamy  for  not  having  recognized  and 
observed  them.  It  is  plain,  therefore,^  that  these  laws 
were  in  force  before  the  Mosaic  ritual  existed ;  and  if  so, 
they  have  patriarchal  authority.  4.  There  is  no  hint  in 
the  New  Testament  that  they  have  been  repealed;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  Paul's  horror,  expressed  in  1  Cor.  v.  1, 

*  See  Bush,  ad  locum. 


832  PEIVATE  AND  DOMESTIC  OBLIGATIOISrS. 

unequivocally  declares  that  he  recognized  the  precepts  as 
both  moral  and  divine  in  their  authority. 

The  Lord  would  hereby  preserve  purity  and  peace 
throusfhout  the  wide  circle  of  domestic  intercourse.  He 
wishes  perfect  confidence  and  a  pure  familiarity  to  pre- 
vail among  relatives.  Having,  in  former  chapters,  fenced 
his  own  tabernacle,  he  now  fences  the  tabernacles  of 
men. 

Vers.  Y,  8.  "  The  nakedness  of  thy  father,  or  the  nakedness  of  thy 
mother,  shalt  thou  not  uncover  :  she  is  thy  mother ;  thou  shalt  not 
uncover  her  nakedness.  The  nakedness  of  thy  father's  wife  shalt 
thou  not  uncover  :  it  is  thy  father's  nakedness." 

Whether  thy  full  mother,  or  only  thy  step-mother  ;  and 
although  thy  step-mother  be  now  left  a  widow.  The 
heathen  story  of  Jocasta  and  (Edipus  proves  how  deep 
this  precept  as  to  the  mother  is  engraven  in  the  nature 
of  man  ;  and  not  only  the  divine  stigma  on  Reuben  (Gren. 
XXXV.  22),  but  even  the  heathen  abhorrence  of  the  same 
in  1  Cor.  v.  1,  "  not  so  much  as  named  a^nong  tliem^'' 
show  how  this  same  feeling  extends  to  the  case  of  step- 
mother. 

May  we  not  here,  from  the  fact  that  in  this  instance 
human  law  and  feeling  among  Heathens  coincided  with 
the  divine,  derive  light  as  to  the  other  commandments  ? 
If  the  law  of  God  be  thus  recognized  by  the  human  con- 
science, in  such  cases  as  these,  is  it  not  plain  that  the 
same  conscience  will  yet  testify  to  all  other  parts  of  this 
holy  law  in  like  manner  ?  There  is  sufficient  to  prove 
that  the  law  was  once  there,  and  sufficient  also  to  prove 
that  it  was  displaced.  The  fragmenls  testify  that  it  was 
there ;  yet,  being  only  fragments,  they  also  testify  that 
it  was  effaced. 

Vers,  9,  10,  11.    "The  nakedness  of  thy  sister,  the  daughter  of  thy 


CHAPTER  XVIII.  333 

father,  or  daughter  of  thy  mother,  whether  she  be  born  at  home,  or 
born  abroad,  even  their  nakedness  thou  shalt  not  uncover.  The 
nakedness  of  thy  son's  daughter,  or  of  thy  daughter's  daughter, 
even  their  nakedness  thou  shalt  not  uncover  :  for  theirs  is  thine 
own  nakedness.  The  nakedness  of  thy  father's  wife's  daughter, 
begotten  of  thy  father,  she  is  thy  sister,  thou  shalt  not  uncover  her 
nakedness." 

The  case  of  a  sister,  legitimate  or  not,  and  of  a  grand- 
daughter, and  of  a  step-sister,  i.  e.,  half-sister  by  the  side 
of  the  mother — each  of  these  is  here  taken  up.  Of 
course  Cain  and  Abel  were  not  under  this  law  ;  they 
married  their  sisters.  Abraham  marrying  his  half-sister, 
Sarah,  is  an  instance  of  the  unsettled  state  of  the  law 
then,  and  an  instance  of  what  Solon  thought  might  be 
allowed,  viz.,  the  marriage  of  "  d^onuTQWi^^^  but  not  of 
<«  d//o^7/T^totj"  those  who  had  the  same  father,  but  not  the 
same  mother.  (G-en.  xx.  12.)  But  to  prevent  a  recur- 
rence of  these  unions,  the  law  is  clearly  stated  for  the 
future.  Temporary  considerations  were  allowed  by  God 
to  supersede  these  precepts  on  some  occasions  ;  but  -so 
strong  and  binding  are  they  in  all  other  cases,  that  it 
would  need  nothing  less  than  Divine  permission  to  make 
them  justifiable.  All  this  was  fitted  to  set  up  in  families 
a  system  of  pure  domestic  peace ;  intercourse  where  no 
impure  principles  had  sway ;  affection  flowing  out  in  a 
clear  stream  of  disinterested  affection.  Families  on  earth 
should  come  to  a  resemblance  of  the  heavenly  family, 
who  walk  in  holy  intercourse,  receiving  from  the  Father 
himself,  through  the  Son,  an  overflowing  love.  For  the 
love  of  God  to  them  comes  in  upon  the  love  they  have  to 
one  another  ;  and  forthwith,  as  when  a  massy  rock  glides 
down  into  the  bosom  of  some  mountain-pool,  there  is  a 
gushing  over  of  its  waters  on  every  side — on  all  around. 

The  case  of  grandchildren,  in  vers.  10,  11,  has  an 


334  PKIVATE  AND   DOMESTIC  OBLIGATIOKS. 

interesting  feature  in  it.  It  niight  happen  that  after  a 
father's  death,  the  original  family  would  be  broken  up. 
The  widow  married  again,  and  her  new  family  grew  up 
in  youth  and  beauty.  These  daughters  are  like  strangers 
to  the  original  family  ;  still,  a  relationship  has  been 
formed,  however  slight  it  appears :  these  are  to  be 
reckoned  sisters  of  the  original  family.  Thus  the  Lord 
multiplied  the  links  of  connection,  -and  kept  connections 
unbroken.  And  the  more  this  is  done,  the  less  have 
selfishness  and  sensuality  room  to  gain  strength. 

Vers.  12,  13,  14.  "Thou  shalt  not  uncover  the  nakedness  of  thy 
father's  sister :  she  is  thy  father's  near  kinswoman.  Thou  shalt  not 
uncover  the  nakedness  of  thy  mother's  sister:  for  she  is  thy 
mother's  near  kinswoman.  Thou  shalt  not  uncover  the  nakedness 
of  thy  father's  brother,  thou  shalt  not  approach  to  his  wife :  she  is 
thine  aunt." 
t 

Here  is  the  case  of  aunts,  paternal  and  maternal,  and 

the  wives  of  paternal  uncles  ;  and,  of  course,  too,  a  ma- 
ternal uncle's  wife.  This  is  always  understood  to  in- 
clude the  niece  likewise,  on  the  plain  principles  already 
stated ;  and  it,  of  course,  includes  the  case  of  females 
not  marrying  uncle  or  nephew.  The  Lord  would  spread 
the  feelings  of  relationship  widely,  and  so  expand  our  un- 
selfish feelings  ;  and  all  the  while  he  checks  and  restrains 
every  tendency  to  what  would  hinder  the  free  flow  of 
those  disinterested  feelinsrs. 


o 


Vers,  15,  16.  "Thou shalt  not  uncover  the  nakedness  of  thy  daughter- 
in-law  :  she  is  thy  son's  wife ;  thou  shalt  not  uncover  her  naked- 
ness. Thou  shalt  not  uncover  the  nakedness  of  thy  brother's  wife : 
it  is  thy  brother's  nakedness." 

In  one  particular  case,  namely,  that  referred  to  in 
Deut.  XXV.  5-10,  the  famous  case  brought  forward  to 
Jesus  by  the  Sadducees,  Matt.  xxii.  23-26,  there  is  an 


CHAPTER  XVIII.  335 

exception  to  ver.  16.  But  that  express  exception,  or  pro- 
viso, in  the  particular  case,  just  enforces  it  the  more  in 
all  others  ;*  and  that  one  exception  had  in  view  the 
special  object  of  preserving  families  and  inheritances  un- 
broken, until  Messiah  should  come.  Daughters-in-law 
are  reckoned  truly  daughters,  and  sisters-in-law  really 
sisters.  It  seems  that  when  such  new  relations  are 
formed,  God  gives  the  affectionate  feeling  of  kindred  to 
the  new  relatives,  and  so  cements  the  social  fabric. 

Vers.  17,  18.  "  Thou  shalt  not  uncover  the  nakedness  of  a  woman  and 
her  daughter,  neither  shalt  thou  take  her  son's  daughter,  or  her 
daughter's  .daughter,  to  uncover  her  nakedness,  for  they  are  her 
near  kinswomen  :  it  is  wickedness.  Neither  shalt  thou  take  a  wife 
to  her  sister,  to  vex  her,  to  uncover  her  nakedness,  besides  the  other 
in  her  lifetime.' 

It  appears  that  Grod  is  anxious  to  draw  men  into  as 
many  relationships  as  possible.  Connection  so  near,  with 
many  persons,  is  well  fitted  to  undo  the  natural  selfish- 
ness of  men.  Men  are  thus  drawn  outward  to  other 
circles  of  society ;  and  the  circles  are  none  of  them  iso- 
lated, but  each  touching  on  the  other,  or  passing  through 
it.  The  disunion  of  the  Fall,  and  the  divisions  of  Babel, 
are  thus  repaired  to  some  degree.  And  in  all  we  see 
the  traces  of  the  same  Father  and  Elder  Brother,  who 
binds  together  his  new  family  so  thoroughly  into  one  wide, 
yet  firmly-knit  and  compact  community. 

It  is  declared  to  be  "  horrid  wickedness^''  ('^l!)  to  marry 
the  daughter  of  a  man's  own  step-daughter ;  much  more, 
then,  to  marry  the  step-daughter  herself.  So,  mutatis 
mutandis,  in  the  case  of  a  woman  proposing  to  marry  her 
step-son,  or  his  son.     But  in  ver.  18,  there  is  a  difficulty. 

*  Bush  has  good  remarks  on  this  chapter. 


836  PRIVATE   AND   DOMESTIC   OBLIGATIONS. 

The  apparent  object  is  to  prohibit  such  marriages  as 
once  took  place  in  the  case  of  Jacob,  when  he  married 
Rachel  and  Leah  in  one  week.  Other  laws  imply  that 
a  sister-in-law  must  never  be  married  to  her  brother-in- 
law  ;  and  this  verse  fortifies  society  still  farther  against 
the  practice  of  taking  two  sisters  simultaneously^  i.  e., 
before  one  or  other  could  stand  in  the  relation  of  sister- 
in-law.  The  words,  "  in  her  lifetime^''''  should  be  joined 
to  the  first  clause,^  ''  to  vex  her  all  her  life'''' — as  we  see 
took  place  in  the  case  of  Leah  and  Rachel.  The  Lord 
has  a  regard  even  to  the  personal  feelings  of  the  indi- 
viduals, and  to  the  probable  results  that  might  ensue  in 
regard  to  domestic  peace.  While  he  does  not  positively 
forbid  polygamy,  he  guards  it  against  further  evils  that 
might  be  introduced.  And  that  the  Lord  permitted  poly- 
gamy at  all,  seems  to  have  been  with  a  typical  design. 

Our  Lord  says  of  it,  in  Matt.  xix.  8,  that  it  was  per- 
mitted '^  Because  of  the  hardness  of  their  hearts^  This 
seems  to  imply  that  it  was  acknowledged  to  be  an  imper- 
fection ;  and,  as  such,  was  permitted  to  remain  in  Israel, 
in  order  to  keep  them  in  expectation  of  a  higher  and 
better  order  of  things,  resembling  far  more  nearly  the 
order  of  unfallen  Paradise,  where  there  was  union  be- 
tween one  man  and  one  woman — a  shadow  of  Christ 
and  his  Church.  The  Church's  unholy  alliances  with  the 
world,  its  mixed  holiness,  its  imperfections,  its  inconsis- 
tencies, were  to  be  set  forth  by  the  one  husband  with 
many  wives.  But,  at  all  events,  there  was  an  intended 
imperfection  in  the  system,  pointing  forward  to  the  com- 
ing of  the  true  Spouse  and  Bridegroom — Christ  and  his 
catholic,  yet  one  united  Church. 

*  So  ver.  19,  rrns:;.  See  Bush's  full  note  on  this  page,  bearing  on  the 
disputes  that  have  arisen  in  the  American  Churches. 


CHAPTER  XVIII.  337 

Ver.  19.  "Also,  thou  shalt  not  approach  unto  a -woman  to  uncover 
her  nakedness,  as  long  as  she  is  put  apart  for  her  uncleanness." 

By  this  law,  the  Lord  put  a  check  even  on  lawful  in- 
tercourse. There  were  times  when  the  wife  was  not  to 
be  approached  by  her  own  husband.  And  in  Ezek.  xxii. 
10,  the  transgression  of  this  law  is  reckoned  one  of  the 
marks  of  Israel's  great  corruptions.  Every  sensual 
feeling  must  be  subordinated  to  the  Lord's  will;  and  men 
must  live  as  the  Lord  appoints.  Their  happiness  con- 
sists in  letting  their  soul  flow  out  in  the  channel  of  the 
Lord's  will. 

Vers.  20,  21,  22,  23.  "  Moreover,  thou  shalt  not  lie  carnally  with  thy 
neighbor's  wife,  to  defile  thyself  with  her.  And  thou  shalt  not  let 
any  of  thy  seed  pass  through  the  fire  to  Molech,  neither  shalt  thou 
profane  the  name  of  thy  God  :  I  am  the  Lord.  Thou  shalt  not  lie 
"with  mankind  as  with  womankind :  it  is  abomination.  Neither 
shalt  thou  lie  with  any  beast  to  defile  thyself  therewith ;  neither 
shall  any  woman  stand  before  a  beast  to  lie  down  thereto :  it  is 
confusion." 

The  word  ''confusion"  means  iprohsibly  ^^  audacious 
depravity. "^^^  And  such  is  the  human  heart  that  all 
these  forms  of  depravity  were  not  too  bad  to  be  anticipated 
by  the  Lord,  who  knew  the  heart.  He  knows  the  viru- 
lence of  the  poisoned  spring.  The  Syrian  Hazael  wonders 
that  any  should  fancy,  far  less  say,  that  he  would  be 
capable  of  a  murderous  deed  ;  but  the  Lord  Jehovah, 
looking  on  the  unrenewed  heart,  forms  this  estimate  of  it, 
even  in  the  case  of  his  own  Israel,  viz.,  they  might  be 
tempted  not  only  to  adultery,  ver.  20,  and  to  presentt 

*  Rosenmiiller  derives  the  Hebrew  noun  ^^pi  from  the  Arabic  root, 
which  means  "  improbus  fuit ;  adulterium  commisit." 

f  The  Septuagint  reading  here  varies  from  ours.  They  read  'i35>n 
"doxretj  ^arpevciv"  and  'nbiQ   ap^ovri.     Perhaps   -1135)11  means  here,  as 

15 


338  PRIVATE  AND   DOMESTIC  OBLIGATIONS. 

their  children  to  Molech,  in  reckless  inhumanity,  and 
perhaps  in  order  to  be  quit  of  them,  ver.  21,  by  all  this 
bring  public  reproach  on  the  name  of  Jehovah  ("  profan- 
ing his  name")  ;  yet  even  beyond  this  would  they  go. 
Some  might  be  led  (ver.  22)  to  the  grossest  and  most 
shocking  lusts,  man  with  man ;  and  (ver.  23)  man  or 
woman  wdth  beasts.  How  awful  is  the  Lord's  judgment 
of  the  human  heart !  He  believes  that  an  Israelite, 
though  surrounded  as  an  Israelite  of  course  was,  with 
everything  that  could  fence  in  his  morality,  might  never- 
theless have  a  heart  so  foul  as  to  burst  all  bounds,  and 
transgress  all  limits,  and  overflow  all  banks.  '^  The  heart 
is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  desperately  wicked ; 
who  can  know  it  ?  I  the  Lord  search  the  heart ;  I  try 
the  reins."  (Jer.  xvii.  10.)  Surely  in  an  unrenewed 
soul  there  is  a  secret  connection  with  hell  and  the  devil, 
even  as  in  a  regenerate  soul  there  is  a  secret  connection 
with  heaven  and  with  Grod  ! 

All  these  safeguards  are  needed  to  secure  the  peace 
and  purity  of  human  society.  And  this  social  order  is, 
after  all,  but  an  external  effect.  What,  then,  must  be 
needed  to  produce  a  real,  inward,  heart-pervading  holi- 
ness ! 


Vers.  24,  25,  26,  27,  28.  "  Defile  not  yourselves  in  any  of  these  things ; 
for  in  all  these  the  nations  are  defiled  which  I  cast  out  before  you : 
and  the  land  is  defiled :  therefore  I  do  visit  the  iniquity  thereof 
upon  it,  and  the  land  itself  vomiteth  out  her  inhabitants.  Ye  shall 
therefore  keep  my  statutes  and  my  judgments,  and  shall  not  commit 
any  of  these  abominations ;  neither  any  of  your  own  nation,  nor  any 
stranger  that  sojourneth  among  you ;  (for  all  these  abominations 
have  the  men  of  the  land  done,  which  were  before  you,  and  the 

Gesenius  thinks,  simply  to  present  to,  though  that  implied,  of  course,  pass- 
ing them  through  the.  fire  in  his  honor.  Some  suppose,  from  2  Kings  xvi. 
3,  that  Hezekiab  bad  been  thus  dedicated. 


CHAPTER  XVIII.  339 

land  i3  defiled ;)  that  the  land  spue  you  not  also,  when  ye  defile  it, 
as  it  spued  out  the  nations  that  were  before  you." 

The  land  was  to  be  cleared  of  its  inhabitants  who  had 
committed  these  sins.  Iniquity  done  in  its  secret  places 
was  crying  to  God  for  vengeance,  and  the  land  itself  was 
loathing  the  foul  sins  it  was  compelled  to  bear — the  land 
itself  was  "  spuing  out"^  the  people. 

Again  we  see,  as  at  the  beginning  of  the  chapter,  that 
these  precepts  have  all  of  them  a  place  in  the  conscience./ 
The  law  is  written  on  the  heart  even  of  these  Canaanites,' 
and  for  resisting  that  law  they  are  punished. 

See,  again,  how  even  a  smaller  degree  of  light  renders 
a  man  liable  to  judgment.  Canaan  suffers  for  its  guilt, 
though  the  law  was  not  given  in  words  and  in  writing  to 
them.  How  evident,  then,  that  the  slightest  glimmer  of 
Gospel  light  will  add  tremendous  force  to  the  responsi- 
bilities of  every  one  of  us  !  / 

Vers.  29,  30.  "  For  whosoever  shall  commit  any  of  these  abpoainations, 
even  the  souls  that  commit  them  shall  be  cut  off  from  among  the 
people.  Therefore  shall  ye  keep  mine  ordinance,  tha/  ye  commit 
not  any  one  of  these  abominable  customs,  which  were  committed 
before  you,  and  that  ye  defile  not  yourselves  therein :  /  am  the  Lord 
your  God."  / 

If  the  people  of  Israel  at  large  fell  into  these  sins, 
then  they  were  to  be  treated  as  the  Canaanites.     If  indi- 

*  What  lukewarmness  is  in  His  sight  may  be  inferred  from  the  use  of 
this  expression  in  Rev.  iii.  16,  the  very  expression  applied  to  the  most 
abominable  state  of  society  that  could  be  imagined!  0  man,  are  you 
pleasing  the  world  ?  Are  yoii  content  with  a  hope  ?  Are  you  going  as  far 
as  possible  to  meet  the  world  ?  Are  you  a  decent,  moral,  nay,  highly  re- 
spected professor,  who  avoids  being  over-zealous  ?  Satisfied  with  being 
saved,  though  left  unholy  ?  Are  you  trying  to  gain  both  worlds  ?  Are 
you  thinking  to  walk  on  to  heaven  in  a  way  that  a  scoffing  world  will  not 
discover  ?  Then,  tremble !  He  will  as  assuredly  spue  thee  out  of  hia 
mouth,  as  if  thou  hadst  all  the  lust  of  lustful  Canaan ! 


340  PRIVATE  AND  DOMESTIC   OBLIGATIONS. 

vidual  cases  occurred,  these  souls  were  to  be  immediately 
punished.  They  are  to  watch  against  the  first  symptoms. 
^^Obsta  principus.^^  In  the  case  of  Benjamin — a  whole 
tribe — taking  part  with  Gribeah,  they  were  compelled  to 
act  upon  these  commands  to  the  extent  of  not  only  ex- 
communicating them,  but  even  cutting  them  off  with 
the  sword. 

It  was  needful  thus  to  denounce  vice  of  every  shape, 
ere  Israel  took  possession  of  such  a  land.  It  was  so  not 
only  that  the  memory  of  former  days  might  be  used  to 
benefit  them,  but  because  it  was  a  land  where  natural 
scenery — groves  and  vales  and  green  trees — were  all 
abused  by  former  inhabitants  to  favor  lust.  Its  delicious 
climate  and  luxuriant  fruits,  if  unsanctified,  might  tend 
to  excite  the  gratification  of  fleshly  lusts,  like  as  did  the 
fulness  of  Sodom.  (Ezek.  xvi.  49.)  Plenty  and  peace 
are  safe  for  us  only  when  our  souls  are  partakers  of 
Divine  holiness.  IsraeVs  land  combined  these  two 
things,  and  so  was  the  type  of  the  "  New  Earth  wherein 
dwelleth  righteousness."  It  was  a  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey ;  and  at  the  same  time  peopled  by  a 
nation  whose  heart  felt  the  love  and  whose  consciences 
bowed  to  tae  law  of  Jehovah. 


EBAL    AND    GERIZZIM. 


Perhaps  it  was  in  order  to  purify  the  land  from  these 
abominations,  in  a  manner,  or  solemnly  to  pledge  Israel 
at  their  entranc3  on  it  not  to  share  in  the  sins  of  the 
former  inhabitants,  that  that  transaction  mentioned 
twice,  Deut.  xi.  ^9,  30,  and  xxvii.  was  appointed  to  take 
place.  It  is  recorded  as  having  taken  place,  Joshua  viii. 
30. 


CHAPTER   XVIII.  341 

When  they  had  penetrated  into  the  very  midst  of  the 
land,  and  had  it  all  before  them  in  consequence  of  the 
taking  of  Ai,  there  were  preparations  made  to  pledge  the 
people  to  a  holy  occupation  of  these  seats  of  former  lewd- 
ness. It  was  to  take  place  in  the  valley  between  Ebal 
and  Gerizzim,  a  valley  which  is  a  mile  broad  at  an 
average,  and  beautifully  adapted  for  a  large  assembly. 
Besides,  Jacob's  well  and  Joseph's  tomb  had  made  it  well 
known.  Accordingly,  the  camp  moved  hither.  Six 
tribes  were  posted  along  the  base,  and  perhaps  a  little 
way  up  the  sides,  of  fertile  G-erizzim,  "  the  hill  of  reap- 
ers f  and  these,  as  they  stood  amid  the  luxuriance  of 
the  spot,  were  to  seal  the  blessings  pronounced,  with 
their  united  "  Amen.''''  The  other  six  tribes  were  posted 
along  the  base,*  and  a  little  way  up  the  slope  of  the 
bleak  and  frowning  Ebal,t  to  respond  to  the  curses.  In 
the  midst  of  the  valley  stood  the  ark  of  Grod,  and  around 
it  the  priests,  with  the  judges,  officers,  and  elders.  A 
solemn  silence  spread  over  all ;  deep  suspense  and  awe 
rested  on  the  vast  assembly. 

Joshua  then  proceeded  to  erect  on  Ebal  an  altar  of 
stone,  unadorned,  and  so  the  better  fitted  to  typify  Him 
who  had  no  attraction  to  the  carnal  eye.  Burnt-offer- 
ings and  peace-offerings  were  presented  on  it  to  the  Lord ; 
and  Israel's  conscience  bathed  in  the  peace-speaking 
blood.  Thereafter,  while  the  fire  still  blazed,  Joshua 
wrote  on  the  side  of  this  altar,  which  faced  the  whole 
assembly,  a  copy  of  the  laiv  I  It  was  clear  and  distinct ; 
the  holy  law  on  the  altar's  sides !  And  no  sooner  was 
this  done,  than  the  priest  at  the  ark  prepared  to  utter 
the  blessing  and  the  curse. 

*  ^I'S  Deut.  xxvii.  12,  and  Joshua  is  still  more  express. 
f  Which,  according  to  Gesenius,  means  "  Void  of  leaves." 


342  PRIVATE   AND   DOMESTTO   OBLIGATIONS. 

Those  nearest  the  hill  of  Grerizzim  uttered  the  bless- 
ings, one  by  one ;  and  were  distinctly  heard  by  the  six 
tribes  on  that  side  the  valley.  At  each  utterance  the 
tribes  responded  ''^me/z;"  and  the  voice  of  the  host 
floated  over  the  valley. 

Next,  those  priests  nearest  Ebal  uttered  the  curses,  one 
by  one.  But  will  Israel  say  "  Amen  .^"  Will  their  soul 
not  tremble  ?  Have  they  ever  already  incurred  the 
curse  ?  The  six  tribes,  who  hear  the  utterance  of  each 
awful  curse,  hesitate  not  to  respond  ^''  Amen^  amenP  It 
is  like  the  "  Hallelujah"  over  the  smoke  of  torment.  The 
whole  camp  feels  the  awe  of  Jehovah's  holy  law. 

But  we  see  how  it  is  that  they  are  able  to  respond  so 
calmly  even  to  the  curse.  Their  eyes  can  rest  on  that 
altar  on  Ebal,  while  Ebal's  curses  float  along  the  vale. 
Do  they  not  see  in  that  altar  the  blood  of  sacrifice  ?  Do 
they  not  see  the  peace-offering  ?  And  more  than  all,  do 
they  not  see  the  law,  the  very  law  the  violation  of  which 
insures  the  curse,  written  on  that  altar's  side,  and 
brightly  shone  upon  by  these  flames  of  sacrifice  ?  This 
is  sufficient  to  give  peace.  There  is  the  law,  receiving 
honor  from  the  sacrifice  ;  illuminated  by  the  flame  and 
blaze  of  sacrifice,  as  well  as  written  on  the  altar's  side. 
Here,  then,  is  the  law  honored  and  magnified  by  that 
atonement  which  their  guilty  consciences  have  free 
access  to  use. 

It  is  with  our  eye  on  the  law  thus  honored  by  the 
sacrifice  that  we  can  bear  to  hear  its  whole  demands 
made.  It  is  when  we  see  its  curse  exhausted  on  the 
victim,  while  all  the  time  its  every  sentence  shines 
brightly  to  view,  it  is  then  we  can  so  calmly  respond, 
"  Amen,  amen !"    We  can  look  on  Ebal,  and  hear  Ebal's 


CHAPTER  XVIII.  843 

curse,  as  fearlessly  as  if  it  were  Gerizzim's  beauty,  and 
Gerizzim's  blessing. 

And  thus  they  depart,  feeling  that  the  way  of  pardon 
— the  sacrifice — the  peace-offering — ^has  itself  left  the 
law's  majesty  and  authority  impressed  on  their  soul. 
Israel  must  depart  to  their  cities,  carrying  with  them 
that  day's  solemn  views  of  the  holy  law,  which  they  will 
tell  to  their  children's  children.  And  the  land  shall  be 
full  of  men  who  ^'  love  righteousness  and  hate  iniquity" 
— the  law  of  Jehovah  on  their  hearts. 


Mnlm  in  tlje  (intq-kii  fvtlatinM  nf  fife. 


"  FOLLOW  PEACE  "WITH  ALL  MEN,  AND  HOLINESS,  WITHOUT  "WHICH  NO  MAN 
SHALL  SEE  THE  LORD  :  LOOKING  DILIGENTLY  LEST  ANY  MAN  FAIL  OF  THE  GRACE 
OF  GOD  :    LEST  ANY  ROOT  OF    BITTERNESS  SPRINGING   UP  TROUBLE    YOU." Heb. 

xii.  14,  15. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Vers.  1,2.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Speak  unto  all 
the  congregation  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  say  unto  them.  Ye 
shall  be  holy :  for  I  the  Lord  your  God  am  holy." 

Here  are  duties  to  be  inculcated  that  for  the  most  part 
depend  upon  the  man's  inward  feeling.  Hence,  at  the 
outset,  the  Lord  presents  himself  again  to  our  view.  He 
speaks  to  reconciled  children ;  and  with  these  what 
argument  could  be  stronger  than  this  ?  *'  Oh ;  be  ye  as  I 
your  God  and  Father  am."  Paul  knew  the  force  of  this 
kind  of  persuasion  when  he  said  to  the  Gralatians  who 
so  loved  him,  "  Brethren,  I  beseech  you,  be  as  I  am." 
(Gal.  iv.  12.)  And  so  the  beloved  John,  on  whose  soul 
this  argument  had  continual  effect.  "  Every  man  that 
hath  this  hope  in  him  purifieth  himself,  even  as  he  is 
pure."     (1  John  iii.  3.) 

Ver.  3.  "  Ye  shall  fear  every  man  his  mother,  and  his  father,  and  keep 
my  Sabbaths :  I  am  the  Lord  your  God." 


CHAPTER  XIX.  845 

These  two  precepts  are  a  summary  of  the  whole  law, 
or  rather  are  a  specimen  of  the  two  tables — duty  to  all 
men  in  their  relations,  and  duty  to  the  Lord.  But 
besides  this,  the  principle  of  both  these  special  precepts 
is,  regard  for,  and  reverence  towards,  Grod  in  his  ordi- 
nances, and  man  in  his  relation  towards  us.  And  the 
respect  shown  to  parents  has  an  intimate  connection  with 
the  submission  of  our  mind  to  authority  in  any  other 
case  ;  such  as  this  of  the  Sabbaths  of  the  Lord. 

Ver.  4.  "  Turn  ye  not  unto  idols,  nor  make  to  yourselves  molten  gods  :* 
I  am  the  Lord  your  God." 

In  your  public  life,  be  careful  to  honor  God  before  all 
men.  Turn  not  to  other  gods ;  which  implies  the  duty 
of  being  guided  by  the  Lord's  will  in  our  public  or  com- 
mon-life transactions.  You  are  not  to  be  led  by  Mam- 
mon, nor  by  the  smile  of  the  great,  nor  by  the  fear  of  the 
mighty.     The  fear  of  Jehovah  is  to  pervade  your  actions. 

Vers.  5,  6,  7,  8.  "  And  if  ye  offer  a  sacrifice  of  peace-offerings  unto  the 
Lord,  ye  shall  offer  it  at  your  own  will.  It  shall  be  eaten  the  same 
day  ye  offer  it,  and  on  the  morrow  :  and  if  aught  remain  until  the 
third  day,  it  shall  be  burnt  in  the  fire.  And  if  it  be  eaten  at  all  on 
the  third  day,  it  is  abominable ;  it  shall  not  be  accepted.  There- 
fore every  one  that  eateth  it  shall  bear  his  iniquity,  because  he  hath 
profaned  the  hallowed  thing  of  the  Lord :  and  that  soul  shall  be 
cut  off  from  among  his  people." 

There  must  be  care  taken,  in  holy  actions,  of  the 
effect  on  others  which  our  example  would  have.  Peace- 
offerings   are  left  to  the  free  will  of  the  offerers ;  only 

*  Perhaps  there  is  emphasis  in  each  clause.  "  Turn  noV,'  or  look  not. 
to.  The  attire  and  elegance  of  idol  worship  was  attractive,  like  Popish 
splendor,  to  the  natural  eye ;  therefore,  do  not  cast  even  a  glance  on  it. 
And  perhaps  there  is  ridicule  in  the  other  clause,  ''  molten  gods" — cast- 
metal  gods !     It  is  a  Divine  sarcasm  on  Idolatry. 

15* 


B^Q       DUTIES  IN  EVERY-DAY  RELATIONS  OF  LIFE. 

when  they  do  bring  them,  they  must  strictly  follow  the 
prescribed  rules.  And  if,  on  leaving  any  of  their  offering 
to  the  third  day,  some  one  should  eat  of  the  portion  left 
(ver.  8),  that  soul  must  suffer  for  it  by  being  shut  out 
from  the  congregation. 

There  is  probably,  another  view  to  be  taken  of  this 
precept.  It  prescribes  nothing  but  what  has  been  already 
prescribed  in  former  chapters  ;  but  then  we  must  notice 
the  position  in  which  it  occurs.  It  occurs  among  rules 
regarding  a  man's  relation  to  his  fellows  in  common  acts 
of  life.  Hence,  this  precept  may  be  intended  here  to 
guide  them  in  the  circumstances  wherein  they  were 
placed  towards  others.  It  is  meant  to  prevent  ostentation 
in  their  free-will  offerings,  or  any  selfish  ends.  For  it 
is  to  be  brought  "  of  their  own  ivilV^ — spontaneous  out- 
flowing of  gratitude  to  God.  It  is  to  be  used  immedi- 
ately^ and  on  the  spot.  It  is  to  be  treated  as  one  of  the 
Lord's  "  hallowed  things."  All  this,  of  course,  in  no 
way  interferes  with  the  typical  design  of  the  ceremonies 
themselves,  which  have  been  already  spoken  of  in  chap, 
vii.  16. 

Vers.  9,  10.  "And  when  ye  reap  the  harvest  of  your  land, thou  shalt 
not  wholly  reap  the  corners  of  thy  field,  neither  shalt  thou  gather 
the  gleanings  of  thy  harvest.  And  thou  shalt  not  glean  thy  vine- 
yard, neither  shalt  thou  gather  every  grape  of  thy  vineyard  ;  thou 
shalt  leave  them  for  the  poor  and  stranger :  I  am  the  Lord  your 
God." 

The  Jewish  writers  say  that  a  sixteenth  part  was  left 
in  every  field.  Then,  if  in  reaping,  or  binding  what  was 
cut,  some  fell  out  of  the  sheaves,  it  was  to  be  left  in  the 
field  for  the  poor — for  such  as  Ruth.  And  thus,  too,  in 
gatherins:  the  clusters  of  their  vines.  Such  as  Ruth,  who 
was   both  ^^  poor  and  a   stranger"*^  (ver.   10),  must  be 


CHAPTER  XIX.  347 

allowed  to  take  what  was  left.  All  this  was  meant  to 
check  selfishness  and  greediness  ;  to  encourage  brotherly 
kindness  and  liberality ;  and  to  condemn  covetous,  ava- 
ricious, griping  tendencies  in  the  people  of  Israel.*^ 

Grod  tried  them  to  see  if  they  would  really  act  as 
steioards  for  him.  And  when  he  sends  the  poor  and  the 
stranger  to  Boaz,  he  blesses  the  rich  man  who  had  the 
desire  to  act  as  the  Lord  commanded. 

Besides,  Israel  were  thus  taught,  that  though  they  got 
the  best  of  the  substance,  yet  there  were  strangers  who 
were  to  share  in  their  blessings.  There  were  poor  Gen- 
tiles often  coming  across  their  borders  from  Moab  or  from 
Egypt,  from  Syria  or  from  Edom,  who  must  receive  a 
share  in  Israel's  blessings.  Here  was  a  type  of  the  G-en- 
tiles  partaking  in  their  spiritual  things.  Such  persons  as 
Ittaij  the  G-ittite ;  Hiram,  King  of  Tyre  ;  the  Queen  of 
Sheba ;  the  widow  of  Sarepta ;  Naaman,  the  Syrian  ; 
Jehonadab,  the  Kenite  ;  Ebedmelechy  the  Ethiopian ;  and 
many,  many  unknown,  but  whose  names  are  in  the 
book  of  life,  though  they  were  not  of  the  seed  of  Israel. 

Vers.  11,  12.  "  Ye  shall  not  steal,  neither  deal  falsely,  neither  lie  one 
to  another.  And  ye  shall  not  swear  by  my  name  falsely,  neither 
shalt  thou  profane  the  name  of  thy  God:  I  am  the  Lord." 

In  their  civil  transactions  with  each  other — in  business 
and  trade.  In  ver.  11  theft,  or  any  dishonest  deed,  is 
forbidden,  however  plausible  it  appear ;  "  Ye  shall  not 
steal,  nor  be  guilty  of  any  deceptive  practice"  (^^^nan). 
Nor  must  they  carelessly  appeal  to  God  in  common 
affairs,  when  their  truth  may  be  doubted  by  a  neighbor. 

Christians  need  to  be  warned  and  admonished  on  these 

*  The  "  corners''  of  the  field  were  the  edges,  or  skirts.     Then  (ver.  10) 
« thou  shalt  not  gather  the  (la'iQ)  single  grapes,"  that  stood  not  in  clusters. 


348       DUTIES   IN   EVERY-DAY   RELATIONS   OF   LIFE. 

heads,  as  mucli  as  Israel.  There  ia  a  contamination  of 
conscience  too  frequently  found  in  even  Christian  men, 
from  continual  intercourse  with  an  unconscientious  world. 
Glorify  Grod,  therefore,  by  a  jealous  integrity,  and  by  a 
noble  uprightness.  Cast  reproach  on  the  world's  mean- 
ness, and  show  you  carry  Grod's  presence  with  you  into 
every  place,  and  at  every  hour,  and  in  all  engagement. 
"Write  "  Holiness  to  the  LorcT^  on  the  bells  of  the  horses. 

Ver.  13.  "Thou  shalt  not  defraud  thy  neighbor,  neither  rob  him  :  the 
wages  of  him  that  is  hired  shall  not  abide  with  tliee  all  night  until 
the  morning." 

Far  from  defrauding,  or  withholding  what  is  due  to 
thy  neighbor,  thou  shalt  not  even  delay  giving  him  what 
he  is  entitled  to.  This  precept  is  directly  pointed  against 
incurring  debt.  Fraudulent  bankruptcies,  and  pretexts 
for  withholding  payments,  are  condemned  by  it ;  but 
remaining  in  debt  to  any  one  is  also  pointedly  condemned. 
''  Owe  no  man  anything,  but  to  love  one  another."  In 
James  v.  4,  this  is  spoken  of  as  a  sin  of  the  last  days. 

Ver.  14.  "Thou  shalt  not  curse  the  deaf,  nor  put  a  stumbhng-block 
before  the  blind,  but  shalt  feai'  thy  God :  I  am  the  Lord." 

Oh  !  how  great  the  hard-hearted  selfishness  of  man, 
since  such  a  precept  is  needed !  and  how  deep  the  incli- 
nation to  Atheism  in  practice,  since  such  a  testimony,  "  / 
am  Jehovah,''^  needs  ever  to  be  repeated  !  The  Lord 
abhors  the  meanness  that  would  take  advantage  of  a 
neighbor's  defects,  instead  of  aiding  that  neighbor  in 
supplying  the  want  he  feels.  Oh  I  how  unUke  the  Lord 
when  a  man  acts  so. 

"  He  that  might  the  advantage  best  have  took 
Found  out  the  remedy." 


CHAPTER  XIX.  849 

"When  we  think  of  this,  we  see  double  emphasis  in  the 
words,  "  /  am  the  LordP 

Ver.  15.  "  Ye  shall  do  no  unrighteousness  in  judgment :  thou  shalt  not 
respect  the  person  of  the  poor,  nor  honor  the  person  of  the  mighty : 
but  in  righteousness  shalt  thou  judge  thy  neighbor." 

There  must  be  in  us  no  affectation  of  kindness  to  the 
poor,  even  as  there  must  be  no  fawning  flattery  of  the 
great.  Especially  in  matters  of  judgment  the  judge 
must  be  impartial.  The  eye  of  God  is  on  him  ;  and  as 
he  is  a  just  God,  and  without  iniquity,  he  delights  to  see 
his  own  attributes  shadowed  forth  in  the  strict  integrity 
of  an  earthly  judge. 

If  these  are  God's  holy  principles,  it  follows  that  the 
misery  and  oppression  and  suffering  of  the  lower  classes 

•  will  in  no  way  serve  as  a  reason  for  their  acquittal  at 
his  bar,  if  they  be  found  guilty.  Suffering  in  this  world 
is  no  blotting  out  of  sin.     Hence,  we  find  at  Christ's 

^appearing  "  the  great  men  and  the  mighty  men^  and 
every  bondman,''''  cried  to  the  rocks,  "  Fall  on  us  and  hide 
us  from  the  face  of  him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne."  (Rev. 
vii.  15.) 

Vers.  16,  IT,  18.  "Thou  shalt  not  go  up  and  down  as  a  tale-bearer 
among  thy  people  ;  neither  shalt  thou  stand  against  the  blood  of 
thy  neighbor  :  I  am  the  Lord.  Thou  shalt  not  hate  thy  brother  in 
thine  heart :  thou  shalt  in  any  wise  rebuke  thy  neighbor,  and  not 
suffer  sin  upon  him.  Thou  shalt  not  avenge,  nor  bear  any  grudge 
against  the  children  of  thy  people,  but  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself :  I  am  the  Lord." 

*'  Standing  against  the  blood  of  thy  neighbor,''^  is 
taking  his  life,  or,  rising  up  to  shed  his  blood.  ''  Hating 
in  the   heart,^^  is  either,   thy  virtually  hating*  him  by 

*  The  love  that  is  a  true  reflection  of  God's  love  to  us  is  described  as 
giving  no  quarter  to  a  brother's  sin.     1  Cor.  xiii.  6. 


350      DUTIES  IN  EVEEY-DAY  RELATION'S   OF  LIFE. 

restraining  thy  expressions  of  love ;  or  covering  up  thy 
grounds  of  anger  instead  of  telling  them  to  him. 

Gossip,  and  idle  talking,  and  meddling  with  our 
neighbors  (being  'ulloiQLosniaKonoi^  1  Pet.  iv.  15),  or  more 
wickedly  still,  insinuating  and  hinting  evil  of  him,  are 
sins  forbidden  here.  The  villages  and  cities  of  Israel, 
their  households  and  their  friendly  circles,  were  exposed 
to  this  pestilence.  "  The  tongue  is  set  on  fire  of  hell :" 
and  so  long  as  Satan  is  loose  from  hell,  he  will  not  fail  to 
kindle  these  flames. 

If  a  brother  defame  us,  or  slight  us,  or  give  us  cause 
for  grief  and  anger,  we  are  to  tell  it  to  the  person  face  to 
face.  There  must  be  no  self-satisfaction,  as  if  you  were 
in  this  better  than  he.  Even  for  his  sake,  the  evil  must 
not  be  left  on  him. 

There  must  be  no  revenge  or  grudge  ;  no  smothered 
ill-will.  Let  love  run  through  your  streets  in  a  pure, 
full  stream.     Love  as  you  would  be  loved. 

"  /  am  Jehovah^''''  is  the  authority  and  motive  for  all.  * 

Ver.  19.  "Ye  shall  keep  my  statutes.  Thou  shalt  not  let  thy  cattle 
gender  with  a  diverse  kind.  Thou  shalt  not  sow  thy  field  with  a 
mingled  seed :  neither  shall  a  garment  mingled  of  linen  and  woollen 
come  upon  thee." 

The  introduction  to  these  three  enforcements  of  similar 
observances  is  very  solemn,  because  they  might  other- 
wise seem  trivial.  "  Ye  shall  keep  my  statutes^  They 
are  to  abstain  from  every  action  that  seemed  to  exhibit 
a  mingling  and  confusing  of  opposite  things.  Being  a 
people  familiar  with  types  and  emblems,  it  was  natural 
(as  in  the  case  chap,  xi.)  to  teach  them,  by  common 
occurrences,  spiritual  truths  that  must  always  be  attend- 
ed to.  Hence,  they  are  to  testify  their  abhorrence  of  the 
immoral  mixtures  of  Heathen  lewdness,  by  never  min- 


CHAPTER  XIX.  851 

gling  linen  and  wool  in  the  same  garments ;  by  never 
sowing  two  different  kinds  of  seed  in  one  field  ;  and  by- 
avoiding  any  mixture  of  species  among  their  cattle. 
Perhaps,  they  thus  also  expressed  their  adherence  to  the 
principle  of  one  true  God,  keeping  themselves  separate 
from  all  idols  and  idolatry.  And  thus,  too,  at  this  day 
ought  the  Lord's  people  to  have  no  fellowship  with 
Belial,  nor  follow  Mammon  while  they  profess  to  follow 
God. 

This  precept  gives  force  to  our  Lord's  words  in  Matt, 
xiii.  24 — the  parable  of  tares  in  the  field  of  good  seed  ; 
and  some  others  of  a  similar  kind. 

Vers.  20,  21,  22.  "  And  whosoever  lieth  carnally  with  a  woman  that  is 
a  bondmaid,  betrothed  to  an  husband,  and  not  at  all  redeemed,  nor 
freedom  given  her ;  she  shall  be  scourged  ;  they  shall  not  be  put  to 
death,  because  she  was  not  free.  And  he  shall  bring  his  trespass- 
ofifering  unto  the  Lord,  unto  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  con- 
gregation, even  a  ram  for  a  trespass-offering.  And  the  priest  shall 
make  an  atonement  for  him  with  the  ram  of  the  trespass-offering 
before  the  Lord  for  his  sin  which  he  hatli  done ;  and  the  sin  which 
he  hath  done  shall  be  forgiven  him." 

This  law  seems  intended  to  prevent  any  one  alleging 
the  force  of  circumstances  on  the  one  hand,  or,  on  the 
other,  taking  advantage  of  his  superior  station  in  society. 
Here  is  the  case  of  a  bondwoman,  not  at  all  at  her  own 
disposal,  who  had  been  betrothed  to  some  other  slave. 
In  ordinary  cases,  she  and  the  master  who  seduced  her 
would  both  be  put  to  death,  according  to  the  law  Deut. 
xxii.  23-25.  But  there  is  to  be  a  difference  made  here. 
The  woman  might  be  overawed  by  the  master's  authority, 
or  tempted  by  his  apparent  right  and  claim  to  obedience  ; 
therefore,  she  is  not  reckoned  so  guilty  as  in  ordinary 
cases.  Then,  on  his  part,  the  master  might  be  ignorant 
of  the  betrothing  of  his  bondwoman  previously.     These 


352       DUTIES  IN  EVERY-DAY  RELATIONS  OF  LIFE. 

alleviations  are  supposed,  and  yet  still  there  is  a  penalty. 
"  She  shall  be  scourged^^''  for  not  resisting  and  making 
the  whole  case  known.  And  he  shall  publicly  offer  a 
trespass-offering,  confessing  his  sin.  The  Lord  is  con- 
siderate and  impartial,  yet  holy  and  righteous.  "  By  him 
actions  are  weighed^     (1  Sam.  ii.  3.) 

Vers.  23,  24,  25,  "And  when  ye  shall  come  into  the  land,  and  shall 
have  planted  all  manner  of  trees  for  food,  then  ye  shall  count  the 
fruit  thereof  as  uncircumcised  :  three  years  shall  it  be  as  uncircum- 
cised  unto  you :  it  shall  not  be  eaten  of.  But  in  the  fourth  year  aU 
the  fruit  thereof  shall  be  holy,  to  praise  the  Lord  withal.  And  in 
the  fifth  year  shall  ye  eat  of  the  fruit  thereof,  that  it  may  yield  unto 
you  the  increase  thereof.  I  am  the  Lord  your  God." 

There  is  said  to  be  a  natural  reason  for  this  precept, 
viz.,  trees  yield  better  fruit  afterwards,  if  the  blossoms  be 
nipt  off  ("  circumcised")  during  the  earliest  years.  It  is 
even  said,  the  fruit  of  the  first  three  years  is  unwhole- 
some. Others  see  in  this  precept  chiefly  a  design  to 
check  the  appetite  of  the  people,  and  accustom  them  to 
self-denial. 

Was  this  precept  not  a  memorial  of  the  Forbidden  Tree 
of  Paradise?  Every  fruit-tree  here  stands  for  three 
years,  as  a  test  of  their  obedience.  Every  stranger  saw, 
in  Israel's  orchards  and  vineyards,  proofs  of  their  obe- 
dience to  their  supreme  Lord — a  witness  for  him.  And 
what  a  solemn  shadow  they  cast  over  the  fallen  sons  of 
Adam  there,  reminding  them  of  the  first  father's  sin.  Is 
it  from  this,  too,  that  the  parable  of  the  barren  fig-tree  is 
taken?*  Three  years  barren,  it  ought,  in  the  fourth 
year,  to  yield  lis  first-fruits  for  the  Lord.  The  husband- 
man could  bear  disappointment  during  the  three  years ; 
but  not  when  the  Lord's  year  of  fruit  came.     In  the 

*  Luke  xiii  '7. 


CHAPTER  XIX.  853 

fourth  year,  the  Lord  got  the  fruit.  It  was  offered  up  to 
him  with  songs  of  praise  ;  perhaps  with  festival  songs, 
like  that  scene  in  the  vineyards  of  Shiloh,  Judg.  xxi.  19, 
21.  The  grand  lesson  enforced  is  plainly  thus,  ''  Seek 
ye  rather  the  kingdom  of  G-od,  and  all  these  things  shall 
be  added  unto  you." 

Vers.  26,  27,  28.  "  Ye  shall  not  eat  anything  with  the  blood ;  neither 
shall  ye  use  enchantment,  nor  observe  times.  Ye  shall  not  round 
the  corners  of  your  heads,  neither  shalt  thou  mar  the  corners  of  thy 
beard.  Ye  shall  not  make  any  cuttings  in  your  flesh  for  the  dead, 
nor  print  any  marks  upon  you :  I  am  the  Lord." 

^^To  eat  with  the  blood^''  (bsj)  is  supposed,  by  some,  to 
mean,  "  eat  at  the  blood,"  as  the  Heathen  ;  but  it  rather 
is,  eating  flesh  while  the  blood  was  not  fully  drained 
from  the  new-killed  animal,  as  in  1  Sam.  xiv.  33.  (But 
see  chap,  xvii.)  Enchantments^  observing  lucky  and  un- 
lucky times,  leaving  a  tuft  of  hair  on  the  crown  of  their 
head  when  all  the  rest  of  the  hair  was  shaven  off,*  and 
shaping  the  beard  in  particular  ways,  all  these  were 
Heathenish  rites.  So,  also,  tattooing  the  flesh,  or  even 
cutting  themselves  in  mourning,  by  way  of  showing  deep 
sorrow. 

Israel  is  to  be  a  holy  people.  1.  Even  in  hunting,  or 
.n  times  when  their  food  was  hastily  procured,  they  must 
stand  still  and  witness  for  God  in  the  manner  of  their 
mating.  2.  Far  more,  when  tempted  to  join  in  auguries 
3y  birds,  or  the  appearance  of  the  clouds.  These  things 
;hey  must  denounce ;  they  must  carry  on  their  business, 
md  prosecute  their  enterprises,  irrespective  of  all  these. 
Simple  reliance  on  their  overruling  Jehovah  is  their 
lafety ;  and  he  would  have  told  them,  if  any  of  these 
hings  were  needed  for  their  safety.     3.  If  they  happen 

*  This  the  Septuagint  calls  making  a  "  ciaor].'* 


854      DUTIES  IN  EVERY-DAY  RELATIONS  OF  LIFE. 

to  visit  among  the  Heathen,  when  abroad,  or  if  a  Heathen 
come  among  them,  they  are  not  to  please  and  flatter  the 
Heathen  by  a  false  liberality.  They  are  not  to  adopt 
their  fashions  in  dressing  their  hair  and  their  beards. 
Even  here  they  are  to  be  witnesses  for  God.  And,  4.  At 
funerals,  nothing  is  to  be  done  but  what  speaks  of  sub- 
mission to  their  Grod,  and  holy  reliance.  There  must  be 
no  extravagance  of  grief,  and  nothing  indicating  any 
wildness  of  spirit.  Tears  may  flow  silently,  like  those  of 
the  Man  of  Sorrows ;  but  grief  must  not  be  distracting 
nor  inconsolable. 

Ver.  29.  "  Do  not  prostitute  thy  daughter,  to  cause  her  to  be  a  whore ; 
lest  the  land  fall  to  whoredom,  and  the  land  become  full  of  wicked- 
ness." 

Perhaps  the  Lord  here  refers  to  the  fact,  that  some 
parents  would,  through  connection  with  idolaters,  become 
so  depraved  as  to  let  their  daughters  become  prostitutes 
in  the  heathen  temples.  Or  it  may  be  meant  as  a  caution 
to  parents  to  prevent  their  daughters  gadding  about,  like 
Dinah,  lest  they  should  fall  in  with  another  Shechem. 
Parents  are  held  responsible  for  the  conduct  of  their 
daughters !  So  much  influence  have  they,  and  so  much 
blessing  does  God  attach  to  proper  training  at  the  hands 
of  parents,  that  neglect  in  using  all  these  means  is 
reckoned  a  conniving  at,  and  participation  in,  the  sin  that 
follows.  How  heavily  will  wrath  fall  on  those  parents 
whose  daughters  are  ruined  for  eternity  by  gaieties  and 
fashions — their  beauty  and  their  natural  qualities  prosti- 
tuted to  the  end  of  gaining  a  settlement  in  life  by  draw- 
ing the  attention  of  the  rich  and  noble,  and  so  matching 
them  well  for  this  life  I 

Ver.  30.  "  Ye  shall  keep  my  sabbaths,  and  reverence  my  sanctuary :  I 
am  the  Lord." 


CHAPTER  XIX.  855 

Their  streets  must  not  only  be  free  of  trade  and  com- 
mon business  on  Sabbaths,  but  be  full  of  worshippers 
going  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord.  This  precept  is  in- 
serted here  as  if  to  say,  "  The  foregoing  duties  will  be 
remembered  and  enforced  just  in  proportion  as  you  keep 
up  in  your  souls  my  worship,  by  seeing  me  set  forth  in 
the  sanctuary,  and  by  spending  the  Sabbaths  in  my 
fellowship."  All  immorality,  and  all  manner  of  evil, 
proceeds  from  neglect  of  the  Sabbath.  Take  away  yon 
river  that  waters  the  roots  of  the  tree,  and  soon  you  will 
see  the  leaves  wither  and  the  sap  dry  up. 

Ver.  31.    "  Regard  not  them  that  have  familiar  spirits,  neither  seek  after 
wizards,  to  be  defiled  by  them :  I  am  the  Lord." 

No  secret  v/orship  is  allowed — none  but  that  of  God 
alone.  The  messages  you  get  in  the  sanctuary,  on  the 
Sabbaths,  or  at  other  times,  should  be  sufficient  to  satisfy 
you  as  to  providences  and  the  ways  of  God.  Fellowship 
with  God  is  incompatible  with  a  seeking  after  communi- 
cation with  devils,  who  may  aid  those  that  give  them- 
selves up  to  them.  Persons  that  spoke  as  if  inspired 
(^iyyuurqi^vdoi) — females — and  men  who  pretended  to,  and 
may  have  got,  singular  knowledge  of  unseen  things  from 
Satan,  are  here  meant.  Such  were  those  Manasseh 
sought,  and  such  was  she  to  whom  Saul  went  at  Endor. 
The  devil,  probably,  was  allowed  to  deceive  his  willing 
slaves,  by  some  extraordinary  communications  made  to 
them  respecting  common  things.  Satan  sees  much,  by 
his  sagacity,  that  men  do  not,  though  the  future  is  un- 
known to  him  ;  and  there  seems  to  be  such  a  thing  as 
fellowship  with  the  devil  personally,  even  as  there  is 
with  God.  Oh,  fearful  enmity  of  men !  They  choose 
rather  the  fellowship  of  God's  enemy  I 


356      DUTIES  IN  EVERY-DAY  RELATIONS   OF  LIFE. 

Ver.  32.  "  Thou  shalt  rise  up  before  the  hoary  head,  and  honor  the 
face  of  the  old  man,  and  fear  thy  God :  I  am  the  Lord." 

When  you  meet  them  in  public  places,  or  they  come 
to  where  you  are,  show  them  reverence.  Infirmity,  wis- 
dom, nay,  age  in  itself,  have  each  a  claim  on  us.  Age, 
even  apart  from  its  qualities,  has  in  it  solemnity.  The 
Lord  would  thus  solemnize  us  in  the  midst  of  our  pur- 
suits. "  Lo !  the  shadow  of  eternity  !  for  one  cometh 
who  is  almost  in  eternity  already.  His  head  and  beard 
white  as  snow,  indicate  his  speedy  appearance  before  the 
Ancient  of  Days,  the  hair  of  whose  head  is  as  pure  wool." 

Every  object,  too,  that  is  feeble  seems  to  be  recom- 
mended to  our  care  by  God ;  for  these  are  types  of  the 
condition  wherein  he  finds  us  when  his  grace  comes  to 
save.  It  is,  therefore,  exhibiting  his  grace  in  a  shadow, 
when  the  helpless  are  relieved,  "  the  fatherless  find  mercy" 
(Hosea  xiv.  3),  "  the  orphans  relieved,  and  the  widows" 
(Ps.  cxlvi.  9)  and  the  "  stranger  preserved." 

Vers.  33,  84.  "  And  if  a  stranger  sojourn  with  thee  in  your  land,  ye 
shall  not  vex  him.  But  the  stranger  that  dwelleth  with  you 
shall  be  unto  you  as  one  born  amongst  you,  and  thou  shalt  love 
him  as  thyself ;  for  ye  were  strangers  in  the  land  of  Egypt  :  I  am 
the  Lord  your  God." 

The  stranger  here  spoken  of  is  one  who  has  come  to 
reside  in  Israel,  for  the  sake  of  Israel's  G-od,  or  just  be- 
cause he  referred  their  land.  Such  persons  are  to  be 
so  many  memorials  of  Israel's  former  bondage.  In  public 
or  private  dealings  with  them,  they  must  not  oppress 
them  by  word  or  action.  Their  laws  must  not  vex  them. 
Israel  must  have  compassion  and  consideration,  like  the 
great  Hig-Ji  Priest  who  was  yet  to  arise. 

God  thus  moulded  his  people  into  a  pitying  and  kind 
frame  of  soul,  and  undid   their  selfishness.     And  thus, 


CHAPTER  XIX.  357 

too,  foreigners  were  likely  to  be  attracted  to  inquire  re- 
garding Jehovah,  when  his  people  were  known  as  merci- 
ful, and  kind,  and  sympathizing.  Even  as  now,  believers 
must  exhibit  kindness  and  gentleness  for  the  very  end  of 
gaining  men  to  Christ.* 

Vers.  36,  36,  37.  "  Ye  shall  do  no  unrighteousness  in  judgment,  in 
meteyard,  in  weight,  or  in  measure.  Just  balances,  just  weights,  a 
just  ephah,  and  a  just  hin,  shall  ye  have:  I  am  the  Lord  your  God, 
which  brought  you  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.  Therefore  shall  ye 
observe  all  my  statutes,  and  all  my  judgments,  and  do  them :  I  am 
the  Lord." 

The  closing  precepts  are  a  general,  but  very  wide  and 
decided,  command  as  to  righteous  and  holy  dealing.  In 
markets,  in  trade,  in  their  shops — in  meting  out  land 
with  the  yard,  cubit,  &c.,  or  weighing  articles  in  the 
balance,  or  trying  the  capacity  of  solids.  The  balance 
and  its  weights,  the  ephah,  and  its  subdivision,  the  Am, 
must  be  strictly  exact.  The  Lord  is  a  G-od  of  justice — - 
unbending,  holy  rectitude.  It  is  thus  that  he  will  him- 
self deal  with  us  in  judgment ;  hence  he  prefaced  it  by 
saying,  ver.  35,  "  Ye  shall  do  no  unrighteousness  in  judg- 
ment," i.  e.,  nothing  which  would  be  reckoned  unjust 
if  the  case  were  tried.  He  ends  by  renewing  the  com- 
mand, in  ver.  37,  twice  repeating  his  authority,  "  I  am 
the  Lord  ;"  and  intermingling,  "  Your  G-od  which  brought 
you  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,"  as  a  motive  of  grace. 

Alas  !  who  shall  live  when  G-od  doeth  this  ?  when  he 
lays  judgment  to  the  line  in  his  dealings  with  us  !  Or 
rather  let  us  say,  "  Ah  I  where  is  there  room  left  to  fear, 
if  the  Surety's  work  be  tried  and  taken  for  us  ?     If  there 

*  It  is  in  this  form  that  holiness  is  recommended  in  1  Cor.  xiii.  4-7. 
The  love  that  God  felt  to  the  guilty,  is  the  love  which  we  are  to  feel  to 
our  fellow-men.     This  alone  is  "  Charity." 


858      DUTIES  IN  EVEEY-DAY  EELATIONS  OF  LIFE. 

be  no  unjust  weight  or  balance  in  the  sanctuary  above, 
and  yet  we  are  acquitted  on  the  ground  of  the  full  meas- 
ure of  righteousness  meted  out  by  Jesus  !"  "  In  that 
great  hour,"  says  Dr.  Owen,  on  Heb.  v.  7,  "  God  was 
pleased  for  a  while,  as  it  were,  to  hold  the  scales  of  jus- 
tice in  equilibrio,  that  the  turning  of  them  might  be 
more  conspicuous,  eminent,  and  glorious.  In  the  one 
scale^  as  it  were,  there  was  the  weight  of  the  first  sin  and 
apostasy  from  Grod,  with  all  the  consequence  of  it,  covered 
with  the  sentence  and  curse  of  the  law,  with  the  exi- 
gence of  vindictive  justice — a  weight  that  all  the  angels 
of  heaven  could  not  stand  under  one  moment.  In  the 
other,  were  the  obedience,  holiness,  righteousness,  and 
penal  sufferings  of  the  Son  of  Grod,  all  having  weight  and 
worth  given  to  them  by  the  dignity  and  worth  of  his 
Divine  person.  Infinite  justice  kept  these  things  for  a 
season,  as  it  were,  at  a  poise,  until  the  Son  of  G-od,  by 
his  prayers,  tears,  and  supplications,  prevailed  to  a  glori- 
ous success  in  the  delivery  of  himself  and  us."  Glory  to 
the  Righteous  One ! 


But  here  we  may  stay  to  reflect  how  bitter  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  it  must  have  been  to  come  to  his  own  nation,  whom 
he  had  thus  taught,  and  yet  to  be  treated  so  unkindly. 
He  was  the  greatest  stranger  (ver.  33)  that  ever  traversed 
earth.  It  was  not  his  home  ;  he  had  nowhere  to  lay  his 
bead.  Yet  his  Father's  laws,  as  to  strangers,  were  not 
kept  toward  him.     "  They  received  him  not." 

"  A  pilgrim  through  this  lonely  world 
The  blessed  Saviour  pass'd ; 
A  mourner  all  his  life  below, 
A  dying  lamb  at  last. 


CHAPTER  XIX.  359 

"That  tender  heart  that  felt  for  all, 
For  us  its  life-blood  gave ; 
It  found  on  earth  no  resting-place, 
Save  only  in  the  grave." 

How  bitter,  also,  to  the  *'  Holy  One  and  the  Just,"  to 
be  treated  with  the  most  glaring  injustice  !  In  the  hall 
of  the  Sanhedrim — in  the  court  of  Herod — at  the  tribunal 
of  Pilate — ''  his  judgment  was  taken  awayP  (Acts  viii. 
33.)  Of  this  he  might  complain  far  more  truly  than 
Job,  who  so  solemnly  protested  ''by  the  living  Grod,  who 
hath  taken  away  my  judgment !"     (Job  xxvii.  2  ;  xxxiv. 

5.) 

The  reference  to  the  perverting  of  law  and  equity  in 
our  Lord's  case,  is  brought  out  by  the  rendering  of  Isaiah 
liii.  8,  given  in  Acts  viii.  33,  "  In  his  humiliation^   his 
judgment  was  taken  awayP     This  rendering  has  been  a 
difficulty  to  many ;  but  is  it  not  the  only  true  rendering? 
Throughout  Isa.  liii.,  the  prefix  5a  means  most  frequently 
"  because  ofP     Thus  vers.  5,  8,  12.     We  would,  there- 
fore, expect  the  same  in  the  case  of  "iS3>a.      What  seems 
to  me  probable  is,  that  the  "  £»'  f^  Tanstvaasi^^  of  Acts  viii. 
32,  is  to  be   found  in  "is>».     And  then  the  "  &vtov^^  is 
found  attached  to  "JStJ^.       The  true  collocation  of  the 
words  would  in  that  case  be  n;?b  wsti3^^  'i'^:23>x3,  "  because 
of  his  oppression,''^  i.  e.,  his  oppressed  state,  his  humilia- 
tion, "he  was  taken  away  from  judgment."     In  Psalm 
cvii.   39,  i:2s>5a    is   found  in  this   sense.     In  translatinsr 
Isaiah,  the  historian  Luke,  (not  the  Septuagint,)  inserts 
t'  duTou"  after  "  £"  ^n  jctnen'chaet^^^  showing  how  he  read  the 
Hebrew.     But,  at  all  events,  their  awful  perversion  of 
all   law  and  equity  towards  the  Righteous  One  is  set 
before  us  in  full  relief:  "  In  his  humiliation,  from  judg- 
ment (the   sentence  he  was  entitled  to)  was  he  taken 


B60      DUTIES  IN  E VERY-DAY  RELATIONS  OF  LIFE. 

away."  The  Judge  of  Israel,  who  shall  yet  sit  on  the 
great  white  throne,  was  hurried  away  out  of  sight  of 
justice  and  equity.  Oh  !  how  fearfully  deep  the  descent 
our  Surety  made  !  But  thus  it  was  he  drew  us  from  the 
miry  clay. 


THE   SmS   OF   THE   FORMER  INHABITANTS.     ♦ 


"have  no  fellowship  with  the  unfruitful  works  of  darkness,  but 
rather  lieprove  them  :  foe  it  is  a  shame  even  to  speak  of  those  things 
which  are  done  of  them  in  secret.  but  all  things  that  are  reproved 
are  made  manifest  by  the  light." eph.  v.  11-13. 


CHAPTEK  XX. 

Vers.  1,  2.  "And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Again  thou  shalt 
say  to  the  children  of  Israel." 

The  Lord,  knowing  well  the  deep  delusions  of  the 
heart,  warns  Israel  against  sins  which  had  already  been 
forbidden.  But  he  does  it  here  by  a  reference,  through- 
out, to  the  former  state  of  morality  and  idolatry  in  the 
land,  lest  Israel  should  say,  "  Let  us  try  what  was  once 
done  in  the  land  before."  (See  ver.  22,  which  is  the  key 
to  this  chapter.)  How  thoroughly  the  Lord  knows  the 
readiness  of  the  corrupt  heart  to  adopt  a  suggestion  of  evil ! 
and  how  accurately  he  saw  the  tendency  to  what  was 
afterwards  really  done  by  Israel. 

Vers.  2,  3.  "  Whosoever  he  be  of  the  children  of  Israel,  or  of  the 
strangers  that  sojourn  in  Israel,  that  giveth  any  of  his  seed  unto 
Molech,  he  shall  surely  be  put  to  death ;  the  people  of  the  land 
shall  stone  him  with  stones.     And  I  will  set  my  face  against  that 

16 


362      WARNINGS  AGAINST  SINS  OF  FORMER  INHABITANTS. 

man,  and  will  cut  him  off  from  among  his  people ;  because  he  hath 
given  of  his  seed  unto  Molech,  to  defile  my  sanctuary,  and  to  pro- 
fane my  holy  name." 

How  startling  the  determination  expressed  here  !  The 
Lord  employs  the  people  of  the  land  as  his  executioners, 
and  then  seems  to  preside  himself  over  the  execution, 
"  they  shall  stone  him — and  /  will  cut  him  off,  setting 
my  face  against  him."  And  the  sentence  is  fearful, 
stoning'  to  death.  What,  then,  is  the  sin  ?  It  is  the 
worshipping  of  the  god,  Molech,  whose  imagined  qualities 
seem  to  be  the  very  antipodes  of  the  true  Grod.  Molech 
was  worshipped  by  revolting  cruelties,  and  the  cries  of 
the  sufferers  were  drowned  in  loud  noise.  An  image  of 
red-hot  glowing  brass  was  the  form  in  which  he  was 
adored,  and  his  arms  received  the  children  offered  to  him, 
forthwith  consuming  them  by  their  red-hot  touch.     The 

child  was  put  ("  eig  to  ;|faajaa  nlriQBg  nvgog^^)  <'  into  a  gaping 

hole,  full  of  fire,"  says  an  historian.  Everything  was 
savage  and  demoniacal ;  fiendish  tyranny  and  hellish 
hate.  What  a  contrast  to  Jehovah — "  Grod  is  love  !"  His 
everlasting  arms  take  up  the  little  child  to  bless  and  to 
save ;  and  never  is  his  heart  satisfied  with  his  worship- 
pers till  they  believe  his  love  to  them.  Rather  than  that 
they  should  suffer  woe.  He  stretched  out  his  arms  on  the 
cross,  and  opened  his  side  to  the  spear,  and  made  a  way 
for  the  streams  of  the  poured-out  vial  running  over  his 
own  souL 

The  man,  therefore,  who  chose  Molech  in  preference 
to  Jehovah,  proved  himself  to  be  in  a  state  of  most  des- 
perate enmity,  to  Grod — ''  defiling-  his  sanctuary, ^^  casting 
contempt  upon  it  by  preferring  Molech's  court ;  and  *'  de- 
filing his  name,''  by  his  awful  choice  ;  as  if  saying,  that 
the  perfections  of  God  were  so  loathsome  to  him,  that 


CHAPTER  XX.  363 

he  would  rather  burn  in  the  furnace  heat  of  Molech's 
image,  than  enjoy  the  sweet,  holy  love  of  the  Grod  of 
Israel. 

Vers.  4,  5.  "  And  if  the  people  of  the  land  do  any  ways  hide  their  eyes 
from  the  man,  when  he  giveth  of  his  seed  unto  Molech,  and  kill  him 
not:  then  I  will  set  my  face  against  that  man,  and  against  his 
family,  and  will  cut  him  off,  and  all  that  go  a  whoring  after  them, 
to  commit  whoredom  with  Molech,  from  among  their  people." 

Fearful  truth  to  men  that  "  have  not  the  love  of  God 
in  them."  Though  you  are  not  punished  by  the  world, 
though  the  world  is  sheltering  you  and  defending  you, 
Grod  is  himself  instituting  a  process  against  you.  God 
was  to  become  the  prosecutor  when  the  people  of  the  land 
would  not  take  measures  against  a  worshipper  of  Molech. 
The  Lord  brought  ruin  on  the  man  and  his  house,  and  all 
those  who  secreted  the  man  and  favored  him. 

The  expression  "  whoredom  with  Molech^''  is  one  of 
many  similar  phrases  taken  from  the  marriage-relation. 
It  seems  that  the  Lord  thereby  intimates  that  his  view 
of  our  world  is  this — He  came  down  in  the  person  of 
Messiah  to  betroth  and  marry  us ;  therefore,  every  turn- 
ing aside  to  another  Saviour  and  another  God  is  breaking 
this  marriage-union.  It  was  in  this  form  that,  in  Old 
Testament  times,  unbelief  v^ql^  spoken  of.  God's  cove- 
nant with  Israel  as  a  people  tended  to  deepen  this  view 
of  likeness  to  a  marriage-union,  as  we  find  in  Jer.  iii.  14, 
"  I  am  married  unto  you ;"  and  Hos.  ii.  19,  ''  I  will  be- 
troth thee  unto  me  forever;"  and  in  Mai.  ii.  11,  the 
reverse,  "  Judah  hath  married  the  daughter  of  a  strange 
God."  We  may  everywhere  understand  it  as  equivalent 
to  the  New  Testament  expression,  ''  Making  God  a  liarP 
All  our  love  to  God  begins  by  our  perceiving  the  love  of 
God  to  us;  therefore,  a  turning  to  other  lovers  is  vir- 


364     WAENINGS  AGAINST  SINS  OF  FORMER  INHABITANTS. 

tually  a  declaring  that  there  is  no  satisfying  love  in  God 
toward  us. 

Ver.  6.  "  And  the  soul  that  turneth  after  such  as  have  familiar  spirits, 
and  after  wizards,  to  go  a  whoring  after  them,  I  wiU  even  set  my 
face  against  that  soul,  and  will  cut  him  off  from  among  his  people." 

Though  the  people  of  the  land  entice  you,  and  though 
you  be  in  perplexity  and  laden  with  care,  yet  never  must 
you  go  to  other  counsellors  than  the  Lord.  Has  not  the 
Lord  wisdom  enough  to  direct  you  ?  And  love  enough 
to  reveal  sufficient  discoveries  of  the  future  ?  May  you 
not  be  satisfied  with  his  spreading  a  veil  over  much  of 
your  path,  rather  than  run  to  wizards,  whose  familiarity 
with  Satan  may  enable  them  to  suggest  extraordinary 
views  of  your  future  case  ? 

The  Lord  "set  his  face  against  that  soul  and  cut  him 
off."  As  in  the  case  of  King  Saul ;  he  followed  him  to 
Endor,  and  there  met  him  with  a  message  of  ruin.  Is 
there  not  a  tendency  to  this  same  sin  in  us  when  we 
refuse  to  sit  still  under  apprehended  evils — when  we  run 
backward  and  forward  seeking  intelligence — when  we 
stop  hastily  in  our  prayer  or  meditation  to  rush  away  to 
some  new  sources  of  information  that  have  occurred  to 
us  ?  Is  all  this  running  to  and  fro,  this  restless,  unbe- 
lieving haste,  this  diving  into  every  deep,  this  pulling  at 
the  veil  over  the  future  as  if  we  could  thus  force  it  aside, 
— is  not  all  this  a  going  after  wizards  ?  "  He  that  be- 
lieveth  shall  not  make  hasted 

Vers.  7,  8,  "  Sanctify  yourselves,  therefore,  and  be  ye  holy ;  for  I  am 
the  Lord  your  God,  And  ye  shall  keep  my  statutes,  and  do  them : 
I  am  the  Lord  which  sanctify  you." 

Some  make  this  an  appendix  to  the  preceding ;  but  it 
is  rather  a  preface  to  the  following  precepts — as  appears 


CHAPTER  XX.  865 

by  ^^for^^  in  the  beginning  of  ver.  9.  And  yet  in  one 
view  it  has  a  retrospective  reference  also.  It  is  placed 
in  the  position  of  a  commemorative  sign-post,  to  attract 
the  eye,  and  to  tell  that  this  road  was  once  in  a  deplor- 
able state,  but  is  now  altered  through  the  great  kindness 
of  their  King :  therefore,  none  of  his  fences  must  be 
broken  through.  These  calls  to  holiness  often  occur.  0  ! 
how  the  Lord  longs  to  see  his  people  holy !  And  how 
tender  and  persuasive  the  argument  which  he  uses  with 
them  !  It  is  always  this — I,  your  G-od  and  Father,  de- 
sire it  I  It  is  I,  the  Lord,  who  sanctify  you !  He  knows 
that  they  who  love  the  Lord,  love  to  be  like  him !  '^  I 
shall  be  satisfied  when  I  awake  with  thy  likeness"  (Ps. 
xvii.  15) — but  never  wholly  till  then. 

And  now  begins  a  dark  and  dismal  scene  !  The  Lord's 
holiness  is  set  before  us  as  if  to  make  the  after-gloom 
more  deep ;  or,  the  after-gloom  is  meant  to  make  the 
Lord's  holiness  the  sweeter  by  its  contrast.  The  rainbow 
is  reflected  from  the  thick  dark  cloud  ! 

Ver.  9.  "  For  every  one  that  curseth  his  father  or  his  mother  shall  be 
surely  put  to  death :  he  hath  cursed  his  father  or  his  mother ;  his 
blood  shaU  be  upon  him," 

Like  the  heathen  in  Paul's  days,  the  people  of  Canaan 
had  lost  "  natural  affection^  (Rom.  i.  81.)  Israel  needs 
to  be  warned  against  their  sin.  And  as  this  is  the 
strongest  tie  of  duty  towards  any  earthly  friend,  if  it  be 
snapt,  then  the  whole  other  duties  and  feelings  of  rela- 
tionship between  men  are  gone.  ^''  He  hath  cursed  his 
father  /"  "  he  hath  cursed  his  mother .'"  seems  written 
to  mark  the  crime  as  eminently  heinous  !  It  is  so  nearly 
allied,  also,  to  the  utter  renunciation  of  all  our  ties  to 
Grod  our  father,  who  has  nourished  and  brought  up  chil- 


366     WAENINGS  AGAINST  SINS  OF  FOEMER  INHABITANTS. 

dren.  The  son  has  become  a  prodigal !  The  son  has 
gone  to  a  far  country  !  The  son  wishes  to  erase  the  very 
memory  of  his  father's  home !  "Be  astonished,  0  ye 
heavens,  at  this,  and  be  very  desolate !" 

This  is  the  porch.  Now  enter  the  chambers  where 
deeds  are  done  in  the  dark,  of  which  it  is  a  shame  to 
speak  ;  but  which  even  the  camp  of  Israel  might  be  led 
to  commit  with  greediness.  Is  it  so  ?  Are  there  sins  of 
which  it  is  a  shame  to  speak  ?  Then  surely  Grod's  Israel 
cannot  need  to  be  warned  against  these?  Alas!  They 
need  it  like  other  men.  The  Lord  sees  their  hearts'  de- 
praved tendencies,  and  how  Satan  will  clear  the  channels 
for  their  easy  flow.  Amazing  grace !  Jehovah  chooses 
for  the  fellowship  of  his  bosom  throughout  eternity  per- 
sons whose  nature  he  knew  to  be  capable  of  the  foulest, 
filthiest,  darkest  profligacy  !  0 !  what  must  Jesus  be 
who  "  saves  his  people /rom  their  sins^ 

Vers.  10,  11,  12,  13,  14,  15,  16,  lY,  18,  19,  20,  21.  "And  the  man  that 
committeth  adultery  with  another  man's  wife,  even  he  that  com- 
mitteth  adultery  with  his  neighbor's  wife,  the  adulterer  and  the 
adulteress  shall  surely  be  put  to  death.  And  the  man  that  lieth 
with  his  father's  wife,  hath  uncovered  his  father's  nakedness ; 
both  of  them  shall  surely  be  put  to  death ;  their  blood  shall  be 
upon  them.  And  if  a  man  lie  with  his  daughter-in-law,  both  of 
them  shall  surely  be  put  to  death :  they  have  wrought  confusion ; 
their  blood  shall  be  upon  them.  If  a  man  also  lie  wjth  mankind, 
as  he  lieth  with  a  woman,  both  of  them  have  committed  an  abomi- 
nation :  they  shall  surely  be  put  to  death ;  their  blood  shall  be 
upon  tliem.  And  if  a  man  take  a  wife  and  her  mother,  it  is  a 
wickedness :  they  shall  be  burned  with  fire,  both  he  and  they  ;  that 
there  be  no  wickedness  among  you.  And  if  a  man  lie  with  a  beast, 
he  shall  surely  be  put  to  death ;  and  ye  shall  slay  the  beast.  And 
if  a  woman  approach  unto  any  beast,  and  lie  down  thereto,  thou 
ehalt  kill  the  woman,  and  the  beast :  they  shall  surely  be  put  to 
death ;  their  blood  shall  be  upon  them.  And  if  a  man  shall  take 
bis  sister,  his  father's  daughter,  or  his  mother's  daughter,  and  see 


CHAPTER  XX.  867 

her  nakedness,  and  she  see  his  nakedness,  it  is  a  wicked  thing ;  and 
they  shall  be  cut  off  in  the  sight  of  their  people  ;  he  hath  uncovered 
his  sister's  nakedness ;  he  shall  bear  his  iniquity.  And  if  a  man 
shall  lie  with  a  woman  having  her  sickness,  and  shall  uncover  her 
nakedness ;  he  hath  discovered  her  fountain,  and  she  hath  uncovered 
the  fountain  of  her  blood :  and  both  of  them  shall  be  cut  off  from 
among  their  people.  And  thou  shalt  not  uncover  the  nakedness  of 
thy  mother's  sister,  nor  of  thy  father's  sister  :  for  he  uncovereth  his 
near  kin  :  they  shall  bear  their  iniquity.  And  if  a  man  shall  lie 
with  his  uncle's  wife,  he  hath  uncovered  his  uncle's  nakedness  :  they 
shall  bear  their  sin  ;  they  shall  die  childless.  And  if  a  man  shall 
take  his  brother's  wife,  it  is  an  unclean  thing  :  he  hath  uncovered 
his  brother's  nakedness  ;  they  shall  be  childless." 

What  sins  are  here,  and  what  sounds  of  the  stroke  of 
the  sword  of  wrath!  ''^  Put  to  death — their  blood  upon 
them  /"  "  Burnt  ivith  fire  /"  "  Cut  off  in  the  sight  of 
their  people''^  (ver.  17) — that  all  may  see  and  fear,  like 
the  witnesses  of  Babylon's  destruction.  "  Cut  off  from 
among  their  people ;"  driven  out  of  holy  fellowship. 
(Rev.  xviii.  10.)  "  Die  childless^'''' — some  left  living  as 
monuments  of  wrath,  seen  by  all  like  a  leafless,  fruitless 
tree  which  the  lightning  of  G-od  has  blasted.  Many  are 
the  arrows  in  his  quiver,  shot  even  on  earth  upon  trans- 
gressors I  What,  then,  when  his  "  bow  is  made  quite 
naked  ?" 

But  what  a  land  of  sin !  Its  cities  and  its  plains 
crying  up  to  heaven !  Children  curse  their  parents ! 
Neighbors  and  relatives  live  in  adultery  with  each  other  ! 
The  son  dishonors  the  bed  of  his  step-mother  ;  the  father- 
in-law  that  of  his  daughter-in-law !  Men  burn  in  un- 
natural lust  (Rom.  i.  27) ;  and  the  same  man  takes 
mother  and  daughter  as  his  wives.  Men  and  women  go 
to  the  very  beasts  to  gratify  lusts.*     Brothers  disregard 

*  In  ver.  15,  Patrick  observes  that  the  slaying  of  the  beast  was  quite 
accordant  with  our  feelings ;  just  as  they  used  to  hang  a  forger  with  hia 


868      WARNINGS  AGAINST  SINS  OF  FOEMER  INHABITANTS. 

the  holy  ties  that  forbade  him  approach  to  sisters  and 
step-sisters.  Aunts,  and  brothers'  wives,  in  short,  all 
relations  in  turn,  seem  only  to  be  fuel  to  lust,  which 
consumes  the  fence,  and  rages  till  it  expire  in  its  own 
indulgence. 

0  !  what  a  land  I  Who  wonders  that  its  people  were 
rooted  out !  The  only  wonder  is  that  the  Lord  could 
have  borne  the  very  sight  of  the  land  any  more  !  Should 
he  not  blot  it  out  from  his  creation  ?  He  did  so  to 
Sodom  and  G-omorrah.  But,  lo  !  he  rather  will  purge 
it,  and  people  it  with  a  new  race  !  I  think  I  can  see  in 
this  how  Jehovah  gave  a  token  that  even  so  will  he  deal 
with  this  whole  wicked  earth !  He  will  not  blot  it  out 
of  creation — nay,  it  shall  remain  forever  a  monument 
of  his  long-suffering.  He  will  cleanse  it  soon  by  the 
appearance  of  Joshua  in  flaming  fire ;  and  then  shall  it 
be  "  the  New  Earth  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness  !" 

Even  thus,  also,  0  sinner,  with  thy  polluted  soul ! 
Every  sin  and  vice,  and  lust,  and  passion  has  had  its  seed 
in  thee — if  not  its  spring-time  when  it  grew  to  flower 
and  baneful  fruit.  But  the  Lord^  instead  of  destroying 
thee,  can  cleanse  and  save  I  The  priest  on  his  throne 
comes  in  to  thee  :  thou  art  washed !  "Be  holy,  for  he 
is  holy !" 

Vers.  22,  23,  24.  "  Ye  shall  therefore  keep  all  my  statutes,  and  all 
my  judgments,  and  do  them  ;  that  the  land,  whither  I  bring  you  to 
dwell  therein,  spue  you  not  out.  And  ye  shall  not  walk  in  the 
manners  of  the  nations,  which  I  cast  out  before  you  :  for  they  com- 
mitted all  these  things,  and  therefore  I  abhor  tliem.  But  I  have 
said  unto  you.  Ye  shall  inherit  their  land,  and  I  will  give  it  unto 
you  to  possess  it,  a  land  that  floweth  with  milk  and  honey :  I  am  the 
Lord  your  God,  which  have  separated  you  from  other  people." 

pen  and  counterfeit  seals,  and  a  conjuror  with  his  magical  books  and 
characters. 


CHAPTER  XX.  369 

The  Lord  tells  them  of  the  inheritance  he  has  provided 
for  his  Israel.  They  are  to  walk  on  the  banks  of  streams 
whose  verdant  banks  are  fed  upon  by  flocks  and  herds ; 
and  in  climbing  their  rocks  they  are  to  find  honey  flowing 
forth  for  their  use.  "  Milk  and  honey''''  are  represen- 
tatives of  all  abundance.  It  is  a  land  which  the  Lord  is 
not  ashamed  to  give  them.  (Heb.  xi.  16.)  But  here 
they  are  to  walk  in  holiness — separated  from  other  people. 
The  former  inhabitants  were  "  abhorred"  by  the  Lord  for 
their  sins ;  they  are  to  be  loved,  and  to  love  in  return. 
Israel's  land  is  to  be  a  theatre  whereon  heavenly  char- 
acter and  heavenly  joy  shall  be  displayed,  and  the  eye  of 
the  Lord  shall  look  with  delight  on  holy  deeds  and  holy 
desires.  All  this  is  to  be  produced  by  their  being  made 
to  feel  free  grace  and  flowing  love.  They  do  not  get  the 
land  on  conditions.  It  is  given  freelp  ;  and,  being  given, 
they  are  then  commanded  to  be  holy.  The  God  of  grace 
is  visibly  at  work  here — placing  them  in  the  midst  of 
blessing,  and  then  saying,  "Now  wilt  thou  surely  love 
me."  "  He  first  loved  us  .'"  must  be  the  spring  of  Israel's 
obedience.  What  strength  there  must  be  in  that  spring  ! 
It  is  sufficient  to  counteract  all  the  sinful  propensities  of 
Canaan  !  Sinai's  loud  thunder  failed,  but  the  silent  love 
of  Zion  overcomes  I 

Vers.  25,  26.  "  Ye  shall  therefore  put  difference  between  clean  beasts 
and  unclean,  and  between  imclean  fowls  and  clean  :  and  ye  shall 
not  make  your  souls  abominable  by  beast,  or  by  fowl,  or  by  any 
manner  of  living  thing  that  creepeth  on  the  ground,  which  I  have 
separated  from  you  as  unclean.  And  ye  shall  be  holy  unto  me  :  for 
I  the  Lord  am  holy,  and  have  severed  you  from  other  people,  that 
ye  should  be  mine." 

It  is  instructiv  to   observe  that   God  enjoins  the  ob- 
servance of  the  ritual  of  worship  very  strictly  ;  and  thia 

16* 


870      WARNINGS  AGAINST  SINS  OF  FORMER  INHABITANTS. 

is  done  with  the  view  of  severving  them  more  completely 
(ver.  26)  from  the  people  of  the  land.  The  form  of 
church  government  is  not  in  any  way  the  essence  of  the 
truth,  but  it  is  the  fence  around  the  truth.  It  is  not  the 
jewel,  but  it  is  the  precious  case  that  encloses  the  more 
precious  jewel.  Whatever  form  of  worship  is  best  fitted 
to  effect  this  purpose  is  surely  the  best  for  our  adoption. 
If  people,  on  the  other  hand,  are  led  to  mistake  the  case 
for  the  jewel,  then  the  great  design  is  lost.  In  Popery 
and  Puseyism,  and  whenever  the  forms  of  worship  are 
such  as  engross  the  eye  and  the  heart,  the  truth  is  lost, 
out  of  sight.  Our  unattractive  Presbyterianism  is  a 
rough  case  in  the  view  of  many  ;  but  it  certainly  answers 
the  blessed  end  of  preventing  any  from  resting  in  it  as  if 
itself  were  the  jewel.  Its  very  plainness  leads  the  inqui- 
rer to  go  deeper  in,  and  find  the  glorious  view  of  Grod 
manifest  in  flesh,  which  it  is  intended  to  fence  and  guard. 
How  uninviting  to  Israel  these  laws  as  to  "  clean  and 
unclean'''^ — and  yet  their  observance  led  to  humble  and 
solid  inquiry  after  the  Holy  One. 

Ver.  2*7.  "  A  man  also  or  a  woman  that  hath  a  familiar  spirit,  or  that 
is  a  wizard,  shall  surely  be  put  to  death :  they  sball  stone  them 
with  stones  ;  their  blood  shall  be  upon  them." 

This  is  not  the  same  as  ver.  6.  This  is  the  case  of  the 
wizards  themselves,  not  of  those  who  go  to  consult 
them.  If  found,  wizards,  and  all  of  that  class,  are  to 
be  put  to  death.  Israel  is  to  remove  stumbling-blocks. 
Israel  must  keep  so  far  from  the  evil  as  even  to  extirpate 
it.     None  but  Jehovah  shall  be  honored.  '^ 

Israel  must  live  in  open  and  avowed  enmity  with  the 
serpent  and  the  seed  of  the  serpent.  There  is  to  be  no 
compromise.     And  this  shall  throw  them  entirely  upon 


i 


CHAPTER  XX.  371 

the  Lord  for  strength.  They  are  to  wage  war  with 
Satan  ;  to  storm  his  strongholds  ;  to  crush  the  adder 
and  dragon  in  their  den ;  to  refuse  any  offer  of  peace  on 
the  part  of  their  great  foe.  Hell  would  hate  no  portion 
of  earth  so  intensely  as  Canaan  in  the  days  of  believing 
Israel.  And  yet  no  region  on  earth  was  half  so  secure  ; 
for  the  strength  of  heaven — the  breadth  of  heaven's  shield, 
and  the  edge  of  heaven's  keen  sword,  became  IsraePs 
safety.  "  The  Lord  alone  did  lead  him,  and  there  was 
no  strange  god  with  him."  "  Happy  art  thou,  0  Israel ! 
0  people  saved  of  the  Lord  !" 


^tmmi  Mm  nf  tjit  l^ximk. 


"  A  BISHOP  MUST  BE  BLAMELESS." 1  Tim.  iu.  2. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Vers,  1,  2,  8,  4.  "And  tlie  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Speak  unto  the 
priests  the  sons  of  Aaron,  and  say  unto  them,  There  shall  none  be 
defiled  for  the  dead  among  his  people :  but  for  his  kin,  that  is  near 
unto  him,  that  is,  for  his  mother,  and  for  his  father,  and  for  his  son, 
and  for  his  daughter,  and  for  his  brother,  and  for  his  sister  a  virgin, 
that  is  nigh  unto  him,  -which  hath  had  no  husband  ;  for  her  may  he 
be  defiled.  But  he  shall  not  defile  himself,  being  a  chief  man  among 
his  people,  to  profane  himself." 

The  fourth  verse  assigns  the  reason  why  the  priest  is 
not  to  be  allowed,  like  all  other  men,  to  defile  himself  for 
every  relative  or  friend  that  dies.  He  is  "  chief  7nan 
among^  his  people'''^ — guardian,  or  superintendent  of  the 
community  at  large  ;  and  of  course,  therefore,  could 
never  be  out  of  mourning  if  he  were  to  mourn  for  every 
one  in  the  community  that  died.  Whereas,  he  is  a  pub- 
lic character,  sustaining  important  relations  to  the  people 
in  their  religious  rites  and  in  their  approach  to  God. 

He  is,  however,  not  to  be  devoid  of  sympathy  and 
feeling.     Nay,  he  is  fully  permitted  to  pour  out  his  grief 

*  Not  "husband,"  for  then   ^ij.^  would  have  been  joined   with  ^1^2  j 
but  like  the  construction  of  3  bttJa  .     And  so  Jeremiah  iii.  14,  has  it. 


CHAPTER  XXI.  373 

over  mother,  father,  son,  daughter,  brother,  and  unmar- 
ried sister  (who  still  clung  to  him  with  unweakened 
affection,  having  no  husband) ;  and  of  course,  also,  over 
his  own  wife,  ''his  own  flesh."*  A  priest  must  have 
feelings  of  deep  emotion  ;  he  must  resemble  Jesus,  the 
Antitype,  weeping  over  his  own  kindred  most  of  all,  and 
only  restrained  from  weeping  over  all  by  express  enact- 
ment of  Jehovah.  A  priest  must  have  in  his  soul  the 
yearning  of  all  affection,  though  he  give  not  vent  to  all 
he  feels.  He  must  not  place  his  regards  too  specially  on 
any  but  near  relatives,  that  so  he  may  feel  more  gene- 
rally for  all  under  his  care. 

Ought  not  ministers  of  Christ  to  be  of  this  same  mind  ? 
Oh !  what  tenderness  is  required  of  us  !  What  wide 
compassion  !  An  eye  that  will  look  out  upon  a  lost 
world,  and  a  heart  that  will  feel  anguish  for  what  the 
eye  beholds.  Oh !  for  that  mind  which  was  in  Jesus  ! 
Such  sympathy  and  pity — such  full  tides  of  loving- 
kindness  that  never  had  an  ebb.  "  The  earth  was  full 
of  the  loving-kindness  of  the  Lord."  How,  then,  did  men 
contrive  to  escape  from  its  blessed  power  ?  Alas  !  they 
fled  from  the  advancing  tide,  and  stood  far  off,  and  per- 
ished. So  should  our  ministry  be — men  so  arrested  by 
the  love  we  bring  them,  that  they  can  escape  salvation 
only  by  fleeing  from  the  full  tide  of  love  that  would  have 
swept  away  their  guilt  and  bathed  their  souls  in  bliss. 
Lord,  keep  us  from  selfish  joys  and  selfish  sorrows ! 
Teach  us  to  live  for  others,  and  for  thee  I 

Vers.  5,  6.     "  They  shall  not  make  baldness  upon  their  head,  neither 

*  Ezek.  xxiv.  16-18,  sho-ws  this  inference  to  be  true;  for  there  we  see 
that  it  needed  an  express  prohibition,  introduced  for  the  occasion,  to  pre- 
vent the  prophet's  mourning. 


S74:  PERSONAL   DUTIES  OF  THE   PRIESTS. 

shall  they  shave  off  the  corner  of  their  beard,  nor  make  any  cuttings 
in  their  flesh.  They  shall  be  holy  unto  their  God,  and  not  profane 
the  name  of  their  God  :  for  the  offerings  of  the  Lord  made  by  fire, 
and  the  bread  of  their  God,  they  do  offer ;  therefore  they  shall  be 
holy." 

Even  when  they  do  mourn  in  the  instances  specified, 
they  are  not  to  imitate  the  Heathen,  nor  conform  to  the 
usages  of  any  who  express  immoderate  grief.  There 
must  be  no  baldness,  or  plucking  off  the  hair  (Ezra  ix.  6) 
in  such  cases  ;  no  shaping  of  the  beard  into  a  corner  ;  no 
cutting  of  the  flesh.  Priests  are  doubly  bound  to  abstain 
from  all  appearance  of  evil :  they  are  his  near  attendants, 
offering  "  the  bread  of  their  God;^^  as  if  they  were  cup- 
bearers at  his  table,  always  seeing  his  face.  And  being 
thus  near  him,  they  have  access  to  peculiar  joys,  and 
they  may  be  well  expected  to  exhibit  in  consequence 
peculiar  holiness.  If  otherwise,  they  "  profane  his  name  ;" 
they  leave  on  other  men  a  bad  impression  of  Jehovah's 
perfections,  as  if  such  men  could  live  (as  they  profess)  in 
the  radiance  of  them,  and  yet  be  earthly-minded  men. 

It  is  still  thus  with  ministers  of  Christ.^  Paul  was 
directed  to  charge  one  such  to  be  "  no  striker,  not  a 
brawler ;"  that  is,  not  imitating  the  heathen  in  revenge- 
ful and  angry  passions  ;  but  to  hQ ''^  sober  and  of  good 
behavior''^  (cfoiqpgopa,  xoufjiov^^  This  implies  an  absence 
of  all  worldly  conformity  ;  no  immoderate  grief,  like  the 
world's,  in  time  of  calamity  ;  no  excessive  or  extravagant 
tokens  of  affliction  even  under  the  sorest  bereavement ; 
and  no  unbecoming  act  even  when  tempted  by  a  wish  to 

*  Not  that  ministers  of  Christ  now  are  priests  at  all  in  the  sense  of 
offering  sacrifice,  or  standing  as  mediators  between  God  and  the  people. 
(See  Archbishop  Whateley  on  this.) — But  they  are  servants  who  occupy  a 
station  in  sight  of  the  people,  and  are  sent  by  God  to  point  others  to  the 
sacrifice  already  offered. 


CHAPTER  XXI.  875 

comply  with  fashionable  usages.  The  world  must  see 
the  habit  of  our  spirit  and  the  manner  of  our  actions  to 
be  such  as  might  be  looked  for  from  men  peculiarly  set 
apart  to  minister  the  bread  of  life  to  others,  receiving  it 
from  the  master's  table. 

Vers.  1,  8.  "  They  shall  not  take  a  wife  that  is  a  whore,  or  profane 
neither  shall  they  take  a  woman  that  is  put  away  from  her  husband : 
for  he  is  holy  unto  his  God.  Thou  shalt  sanctify  him  therefore  ;  for 
he  offereth  the  bread  of  thy  God :  he  shall  be  holy  unto  thee :  for  I 
the  Lord,  which  sanctify  you,  am  holy." 

The  priest  must  not  marry  one  whose  character  was 
not  publicly,  known  to  be  blameless.  One  that  had  been 
guilty  of  uncleanness,  or  one  who  has  become  unhallowed 
(^^ profane''^)  by  any  other  circumstance,  such  as  by  being 
the  daughter  of  such  a  mother,  or  a  divorced  woman, — 
these  are  all  forbidden  him.  The  priest  was  typical  in 
all  his  public  acts ;  he  shadows  forth  our  High  Priest ; 
therefore,  he  must  shadow  him  forth  in  his  espousals. 
The  Saviour's  bride  is  "without  spot  or  wrinkle,"  "  un- 
defiled,"  "  the  choice  one  of  her  that  bare  her ;  the 
daughters  saw  her  and  blessed  her."  (Song  vi.  9.)  And 
as  he  "  hateth  putting  away"  (Mai.  ii.  16),  therefore 
the  priest  must  not  marry  a  divorced  woman.  The 
Saviour  chooses  for  eternity  ;  there  must  be  nothing  even 
to  hint  to  his  espoused  that  she  may  again  be  separated 
from  him. 

In  a  minister  there  is  not  the  same  topical  reason  for 
care  in  this  matter ;  but  there  is  the  same  reason  that 
is  given  ver.  8,  viz.,  his  employment  before  God,  and  the 
character  of  the  God  with  whom  he  has  to  do,  and  for 
whom  he  acts.  The  argument  of  ver.  8  is  this  :  ''I  am 
holy  ;  and  I  sanctify  you,  my  people  Israel,  for  mine. 
Now,  the  priest  is  my  servant  in  offering  my  bread,  or 


376  PERSONAL  DUTIES  OF  THE   PRIESTS. 

sacrifices;  therefore,  for  my  sake,  since  he  serves  me  so 
nearly,  let  him  be  holy  in  your  eyes."  0  man  of  God, 
do  you  hear  ?  Do  you  observe  w^hat  the  Lord  says  of 
you  ?  You  are  to  be  holy  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  in 
consideration  of  the  God  whom  you  serve.  If  so,  oh ! 
how  watchful  must  you  be!  how  circumspect!  how 
unblemished  !  In  regard  to  the  special  subject  of  ver.  7, 
Paul  writes,  1  Tim.  iv.  12,  "Be  an  example  of  the  be- 
lievers   in  purity."  How  awful  is  your  respon- 
sibility if  you  diminish  your  zeal,  love,  spirituality,  by 
marrying  one  who  has  more  of  earth  and  a  present  world 
in  her  person  and  spirit,  than  of  heaven  and  a  coming 
eternity.  It  seems  to  be  a  sin  in  ministers,  to  do  any- 
thing whatsoever  that  might  leave  an  unholy  impression 
on  others ;  how  much  more,  then,  is  it  a  sin  in  them  to 
have  their  own  frame  of  spirit  secularized.  Oh  !  to  have 
the  deep  solemnity  and  unfeigned  holiness  of  "  word  and 
conversation"  (1  Tim.  iv.  12)  that  well  become  servants 
of  Jehovah  who  is  holy,  and  who  sanctifies  us  for  his  holy 
work  !  "  Who  can  stand  before  so  holy  a  God  ?"  "  Purer 
than  the  rays  of  the  sun  ought  a  minister  of  Christ  to 
be,"  said  Chrysostom.  Lord,  baptize  us  with  a  full 
baptism  of  the  holy  Ghost ! 

Ver.  9.  "  And  the  daughter  of  any  priest,  if  she  profane  herself  by 
playing  the  whore,  she  profaneth  her  father :  she  shall  be  burnt 
■with  fire." 

As  in  the  case  of  New  Testament  pastors  it  is  written, 
"  having  faithful  children  that  are  not  accused  of  riot, 
nor  unruly"  (Tit.  i.  6) ;  so  here,  in  the  case  of  the  priest's 
family.  For  the  conduct  of  the  family  is  noticed  by  the 
world,  and  they  lay  the  blame  of  their  misdeeds  at  the 
door  of  their  parents.  There  is  a  responsibility  connected 
with  belonging  to  a  godly  house  ;  the  privileges  enjoyed 


CHAPTER  XXI.  877 

there  ought  to  have  had  a  blessed  effect  on  the  children. 
Woe  to  them  if  it  be  otherwise  I  Double  woe  !  for  thus 
they  hinder  the  usefulness  of  their  father,  who  loses  in- 
fluence in  the  eyes  of  the  world  if  his  counsels  and  walk 
have  not  succeeded  in  drawing  his  own  family  to  God. 
This  is  ''  profaning  their  father's  name."  The  daughter 
mentioned  here  was  to  be  burnt  with  fire — a  type  of  the 
flames  of  wrath,  the  fire  that  never  shall  be  quenched. 
"It  is  impossible  but  that  offences  come ;  but  woe  to 
them  by  whom  they  come  !" 

Vers.  10,  11,  12.  "  And  he  that  is  the  high  priest  among  his  brethren, 
upon  whose  head  the  anointing  oil  was  poured,  and  that  is  conse- 
crated to  put  on  the  garments,  shall  not  uncover  his  head,  nor  rend 
his  clothes ;  neither  shall  he  go  in  to  any  dead  body,  nor  defile 
himself  for  his  father  or  for  his  mother  ;  neither  shall  he  go  out  of 
the  sanctuary,  nor  profane  the  sanctuary  of  his  God  ;  for  the  crown 
of  the  anointing  oil  of  his  God  is  upon  him  :  I  am  the  Lord." 

On  a  typical  account  the  high  priest  was  not  to  con- 
form to  the  usages  of  his  brethren  in  mourning; — "the 
anointing  oil  being  poured  on  his  head,"  he  was  thereby 
set  apart,  beyond  all  others;  nay,  "^Ae  ctovni  of  the. 
anointing  oil^''  i.  e.,  the  holy  crown  on  his  forehead 
(Exod.  xxix.  6),  placed  him  in  a  position  too  conspicuous 
as  a  public  person  to  admit  of  his  conformity  to  the 
usages  of  private  life.  The  oil,  and  the  holy  crown 
bound  around  his  anointed  head,  proclaimed  him  ^^  high 
priesf^  between  Grod  and  his  brethren — an  eminent  type 
of  Jesus. 

The  title  ^^ high  priesV^  (literally  "great  priest")  oc- 
curs here  for  the  first  time.  It  is  given  in  order  to  show 
that  the  rank  of  the  man  is  the  reason  for  this  law  being 
laid  down.  Now,  Jesus  exhibited  no  sign  of  mourning 
for  himself — never  '^  uncovered  his   head  nor  rent  his 


878  PERSONAL  DUTIES  OF  THE  PRIESTS. 

clothes'^  because  of  personal  beroavements ;  nor  did  he 
touch  the  dead,  except  to  convey  life  back  again  ;  and 
even  when  his  mother  was  in  all  a  widow's  and  a  mother's 
anguish  at  the  cross,  he  still  acted  as  High  Priest ;  and 
while  he  exhibited  excessive  tenderness,  he  at  the  same 
time  did  so  as  one  fulfilling  public  responsibilities  ;  for, 
in  the  midst  of  his  woes  as  the  smitten  Shepherd,  he 
took  time  to  recommend  her  to  John,  and  then,  so  to 
speak,  resumed  his  work  of  suffering.  He  truly  was  the 
Priest  who  never  went  "  out  of  the  sanctuary,"  and  who 
''  never  profaned  it"  by  the  introduction  of  personal  con- 
cerns. He  ever  felt  the  streams  of  the  anointing  oil  on 
his  head  ;  he  saved  not,  but  hated  and  lost,  his  own  life 
for  us ;  he*stood  as  entirely  a  substitute  and  surety. 

Vers.  13,  14,  15.  "  And  he  shall  take  a  wife  in  her  virginity.  A 
■widow,  or  a  divorced  woman,  or  profane,  or  an  harlot,  these  shall 
he  not  take  :  but  he  shall  take  a  "virgin  of  his  own  people  to  wife. 
Neither  shall  he  profane  his  seed  among  his  people  :  for  I  the  Lord 
do  sanctify  him." 

Here  is  another  type  of  our  great  High  Priest.  His 
Church  is  espoused  to  him  "  as  a  chaste  virgin"  (2  Cor. 
xi.  2) ;  and  he  says  of  her,  "  My  undefiled"  (Song  vi.  9), 
and  she  says  of  him,  "  My  first  husband"  (Hosea  ii.  7). 
The  meaning  of  the  clause,  "  neither  shcf,ll  he  profane 
his  seed,^^  may  be  to  this  effect,  that  he  should  not  allow 
his  sons,  who  were  to  be  priests  after  him,  to  marry  in 
a  way  forbidden  by  the  law,  and  especially  not  allow  the 
son  that  would  be  high  priest  in  his  room  to  unqualify 
himself  for  the  office  by  marrying  any  one  forbidden  by 
this  law,  and  who  was,  therefore,  "  profane." 

Christ  is  married  to  his  Church  in  perfect  holiness. 
"  She  Cometh  to  the  king  in  robes  of  needle- work" — 
all  glorious.     She  was  not  thus  fair  when  he  found  her  ; 


CHAPTER  XXI.  879 

but  she  is  "all  fair,"  "undefiled,"  "the  choice  one," 
when  he  marries  her.  The  marriage  of  the  lamb  is  on 
the  day  of  his  coming  out  of  the  holy  place  to  bless  his 
redeemed.  It  is  a  holy  people  he  is  to  rejoice  in  ;  holi- 
ness becometh  his  house  forever  ;  no  spot  or  wrinkle,  no 
blemish  or  any  such  thing,  appears  on  his  redeemed 
when  he  is  their  Bridegroom.  (Eph.  v.  27.)  We  look 
for  a  holy  heaven — an  eternity  wherein  we  shall  never 
once  think  an  earthly  thought,  or  feel  one  desire  that  is 
less  than  divinely  pure.  The  blood  of  the  high  priest's 
sacrifice  speaks  of  such  a  demand  as  this  ;  for  that  blood 
not  only  washes  clean,  but  its  testimony  and  demand  are 
loud,  and  vehement,  in  behalf  of  perfect  purity  for  the 
time  to  come. 

Ver,  16.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying." 

As  it  is  a  precept  for  the  line  of  priests  in  all  ages, 
"  in  all  their  generations"  "(ver.  16,)  the  Lord  does  not 
speak  to  Aaron  personally,  but  to  Moses,  the  lawgiver ; 
especially  as  these  precepts  bore  so  much  upon  personal 
capabilities. 

Vers.  1^,  18,  19,  20,  21.  "Speak  unto  Aaron,  saying,  Whosoever  he 
be  of  thy  seed  in  their  generations  that  hath  any  blemish,  let  him 
not  approach  to  offer  the  bread  of  his  God,  For  whatsoever  man 
he  be  that  hath  a  blemish,  he  shall  not  approach :  a  blind  man,  or  a 
lame,  or  he  that  hath  a  flat  nose,  or  anything  superfluous,  or  a  man 
that  is  broken-footed,  or  broken-handed,  or  crook-backed,  or  a 
dwarf,  or  that  hath  a  blemish  in  his  eye,  or  be  scurvy,  or  scabbed, 
or  hath  his  stones  broken ;  no  man  that  hath  a  blemish  of  the  seed 
of  Aaron  the  priest,  shall  come  nigh  to  ofi'er  the  offerings  of  the 
Lord  made  by  fire :  he  hath  a  blemish ;  he  shall  not  come  nigh  to 
offer  the  bread  of  his  God." 

The  sacrifices  are  the  "  bread  of  God,'^  as  in  other 
places  !     Can  there  be,  in  this  expression,  a  reference  to 


380  PEESONAL   DUTIES   OF  THE   PEIESTS. 

Grod  giving  us  Christ  as  our  bread  of  life  ?  Can  it  mean 
the  ''  bread  which  is  set  before  God,  in  order  to  be 
handed  to  us  when  he  has  examined  and  accepted  it  ?" 
And  is  it  to  this  the  Lord  Jesus  refers,  when  he  says, 
"  The  bread  which  I  give  is  my  fleshy  which  I  give  for 
the  life  of  the  world  ?"     (John  vi.  51.) 

These  precepts  concerning  the  priests  evidently  origin- 
ate in  the  necessity  that,  as  being  a  type  of  Jesus,  the 
officiating  priest  should  be  one  that  exhibited  no  blemish. 
The  Song  of  Solomon  may  cast  some  light  on  this  pas- 
sage. In  setting  forth  purity  and  loveliness,  under 
figurative  terms,  it  uses  almost  all  the  references  to  the 
bodily  qualities  that  are  found  here.  Here  the  defects 
are  spoken  of;  there ^  the  excellencies.  (See  specially 
Song  V.) 

If  the  priest  were  ''  blind,''''*  then  the  people  would  be 
led  to  misapprehend  the  type.  He  could  not  represent 
him  whose  "  eyes  are  as  a  flame  of  fire."  If  the  priest 
were  "  /«me,"  he  could  not  represent  him  whose  "  legs 
are  as  pillars  of  marble."  If  "  mutilated  in  the  nose" 
(Q"^n),  he  could  not  be  the  type  of  him  whose  Church 
and  Spouse  has  this  said  of  her,  '^  Thy  nose  is  as  the 
tower  of  Lebanon."  If  "  superfluous  in  any  limb" — if 
one  limb  was  longer  than  another — he  could  not  be  a  prop- 
er type  of  him  who  ^'  cometh  leaping  on  the  mountains," 
as  a  roe  and  young-  hart.  If  "  broken-footed,''^  he  was 
unlike  him  whom  his  Church  celebrates  as  planting  his 
stately  steps  so  firmly  that  his  feet  are  "  sockets  of  fine 
gold,"  on  which  the  "pillars  of  marble"  rest.    His  hands 

*  At  ver.  20,  the  Septuagint  have  "  nriWo?  rovg  d^peaA^ovs"  for  iS'^^a  ^^^f?, 
on  which  the  scholia  of  the  Vatican  edition,  as  quoted  by  Bos,  has  this 
somewhat  quaint  remark,  "  6  rjKiara  ^ev  tov  PXcireiv  sareprinevoi  vyiCJs  ie  rovro 
voisip  OVK  (^x^"'      o'^'o""  rivei  daiv  alperiKuiv  vlos." 


CHAPTER  XXI.  881 

are  "  as  gold  rings  set  with  beryl ;"  and  could  not,  there- 
fore, admit  of  being  represented  by  one  "  broken-handed.'''' 
He  was  to  stretch  out  his  complete  and  entire  person  on 
the  cross ;  the  nails  were  to  pierce  his  hands  and  feet, 
but  yet  not  a  bone  be  broken.  If  the  priest  were  "  crook- 
backed^''''  then  he  would  have  represented  the  High  Priest 
of  the  Church  as  inferior  to  the  Church  herself,  "  whose 
stature  is  like  the  palm-tree  ;"  her  stately  figure  pre- 
eminent. If  "  a  dwarf^^''  unable  to  reach  up  to  the  altar's 
height,*"  he  would  ill  suit  as  a  type  of  him  whose  "  coun- 
tenance is  as  Lebanon,  excellent  as  the  cedars."  If  in 
his  eye  were  cataract,  or  any  white  spot  or  "  blemish^'' 
then  he  is  not  any  more  like  him  whose  "  eyes  are  as 
doves  by  rivers  of  waters,  washed  in  milk  and  fitly  set." 
If  he  be  diseased,  having  the  ^'scurvy,''''  or  itch,  or  if  he 
have  any  "  scab^''^  or  tetter  (ri^^.*^),  however  unseen  by 
the  common  eye,  still  he  is  not  as  he  "  who  is  all  fair," 
who  has  "  no  spot  or  wrinkle."  If  in  the  most  secret, 
hidden  spot  of  his  frame,  there  be  any  blemish  or  defect, 
he  can  no  more  claim  to  be  type  of  one  whose  Church, 
made  like  himself,  is  "  all  glorious  within." 

The  priest  must  be  type  of  Him  who  is  to  give  forth 
his  own  comeliness,  and  perfection  to  the  sinner.  0  how 
fair  is  Jesus  !  His  person  all  perfect ;  virtue  floweth  out 
of  it  when  it  is  touched  by  a  sinner's  hand,  even  as  fra- 
grance breathes  forth  from  the  leaf  of  the  balm-tree  when 
it  is  pressed  by  the  hand  of  the  passer-by.  And  this 
glorious  person  was  the  sacrifice^  as  well  as  priest ;  "  He 
offered  up  himself."     (Heb.  vii.  27.) 

*  Or  if  p-\  means  "  consumptive,  lean ;  in  his  make  indicating  decay," 
how  unlike  liim  who  is  "  white  and  ruddy,"  eternally  vigorous  in  heavenly 
health. 


382  PERSONAL   DUTIES   OF   THE   PRIESTS. 

Vers.  22,  23.  "  He  shall  eat  the  bread  of  his  God,  both  of  the  most  holy 
and  of  the  holy ;  only  he  shall  not  go  in  unto  the  veil,  nor  come 
nigh  unto  the  altar,  because  he  hath  a  blemish ;  that  he  profane  not 
my  sanctuaries :  for  I  the  Lord  do  sanctify  them." 

Many  think  that  these  precepts,  forbidding  any  de- 
formed person  to  minister  as  priest,  were,  to  some  degree, 
intended  to  prevent  the  people  entertaining  mean  ideas 
of  God's  service.  They  must  see  nothing  but  what 
would  leave  the  impression  of  dignity  and  completeness. 
On  this  ground,  it  may  be,  as  well  as  on  the  typical 
grounds  already  noticed,  these  rules  must  be  kept ;  and 
any  one  transgressing,  however  zealous  he  might  appear 
— any  one  insisting  upon  being  allowed  to  minister, 
though  bearing  such  defects — did,  in  reality,  profane  the 
sanctuary. 

It  is  said,  "  m?/  sanctuaries  ;^^  meaning  the  courts  of 
the  tabernacle,  which  are  often  called  "holy"  {e.  g.^  vi. 
16),  and  the  two  chambers,  "  the  holy"  and  "  the  holy  of 
holies."  Or  perhaps,  as  ver.  23  indicates,  the  outer  place 
where  the  altar  stood,  and  the  inner  where  the  veil  was 
hung,  are  the  sanctuaries.  The  deformed  priest  is  to  be 
provided  for,  nevertheless ;  and,  in  this  provision,  he  is 
to  have  the  pledge  and  type  of  as  full  communion  and 
friendship  with  Grod  as  any  other  priest.  For  he  is  to 
partake  of  "  the  holy  things,"  such  as  those  mentioned 
Num.  xviii.  19 ;  the  heave-shoulder,  also,  and  wave- 
breast,  and  even  the  "  most  holy,"  such  as  the  meat- 
offering, mentioned  in  chap.  ii.  8,  and  vi.  17.  It  was 
only  in  regard  to  office  that  he  was  to  be  treated  as  unfit. 
He  must  not  presume  to  enter  within  the  veil,  or  minis- 
ter at  the  altar.  Alas  !  what  must  they  be  exposed  to 
who  are  conscious  of  being  excluded  by  Grod  from  the 
ministry,  and  yet  enter  it  for  a  piece  of  bread  ?     What 


CHAPTER  XXI.  883 

do  they  mean?  They  are  unconverted,  they  have  no 
call,  they  are  blemished  men ;  yet  they  venture  to  stand 
forth  "  as  though  God  did  beseech"  men  by  them.  Alas  ! 
they  shall  yet  feel  that  to  be  true  :  *'  /  the  Lord  do  sanc- 
tify my  sanctuaries." 

Yer.  24.    "  And  Moses  told  it  unto  Aaron,  and  to  his  sons,  and  unto  all 
the  children  of  Israel" 

Thus,  all  Israel  knew  what  sort  of  priest  to  expect. 
Their  eyes  were  fixed  on  One  who  was  to  be  "  altogether 
lovely,"  who  would  come  to  supersede  all  type  and 
shadow. 


l^nustfiDlii  tm^  regariirag  IBnlij  €^mp. 

First,  as  to  Priests,  1-17  ;  then  as  to  the  People,  17-33. 


"be  ye  clean  that  bear  the  vessels  of  the  lord." — Isaiah  lii.  11. 

"  IF  any  man  minister,  let  him  do  it  as  of  the  ability  which  god  giv- 

ETH,  that  god  in  ALL  THINGS  MAY   BE    GLORIFIED    THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST,  TO 
WHOM  BE  PRAISE  AND  DOMINION  FOREVER.      AMEN." 1   Peter  iv.  11. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE    PRIEST    AT    HOME,   1-17. 

Vers.  1,2.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying.  Speak  unto 
Aaron  and  to  his  sons,  that  they  separate  themselves  from  the  holy 
things  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  that  they  profane  not  my  holy 
name  in  those  things  which  they  hallow  unto  me  :  I  am  the  Lord." 

Here  is  a  general  caution.  The  priest  is  to  act  as  a 
priest  at  all  times.  He  is  to  separate  himself  from  the 
holy  things  ;"  that  is,  keep  aloof  from  them  at  home,  as 
if  the  holy  things  were  placed  away  from  him  to  show 
reverence.  The  priests  at  home  were  not  to  handle  holy 
things  familiarly  ;  they  must  act,  even  there,  with  deep- 
est reverence. 

Ministers  may  learn  from  this  law.  Ministers  of  Grod 
must  beware  of  letting  their  spirituality  be  injured  by 
domestic  occurrences ;  they  must  not  let  domestic  com- 
forts unhinge  their  soul,  so  as  to  lead  them  to  speak  of 


CHAPTER  XXII.  885 

holy  things  too  familiarly.  Ministers  are  specially  under 
God's  eye ;  he  sees  if  they  walk  in  the  steps  of  Jesus  in 
their  chambers  and  at  their  studies.  They  must  be  ever 
separated  to  the  Lord. 

Ver.  3.  "  Say  unto  them,  Whosoever  he  be  of  all  your  seed,  among 
your  generations,  that  goeth  unto  the  holy  things,  which  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  hallow  unto  the  Lord,  having  his  uncleanness  upon 
him,  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  my  presence  :  I  am  the  Lord." 

If  he  go  to  the  tabernacle  in  a  careless  state — unclean 
through  some  ceremonial  pollution — the  Lord  will  frown 
the  priest  out  of  his  presence,  nay,  it  may  mean,  will 
even  deal  with  him  as  he  did  when  Nadab  and  Abihu 
were  smitten  for  their  strange  incense. 

Oh,  how  solemn  the  warning  here  to  ministers !     If 
we  go  forth  to  minister  with  unholy  souls  I     If  the  frame 
of  our  souls  be  at  the  moment  irreverent !     If  it  be  en- 
grossed  with  earthly   feelings !      Surely  we  need  very 
special  grace  at  all  times,  and  yet  more  than  all  when 
we  stand  in  the  Lord's  name.     How  cruel  is  the  prayer- 
lessness  and  levity  of  our  people,  when  they  come  up  to 
the  sanctuary  with  easy-minded  indifference.     Do  they 
not  know  our  dangers  ?    Do  they  not  feel  for  our  tempted 
souls  ?     Would  they  not  be  sufferers  themselves,  as  well 
as  we,  if  the  Lord  were  that  day  to  cut  us  off  from  his 
presence.      "  Grreat  fear  is  due  unto  the  Lord  in  the 
meetings  of  his  saints ;"  and  when  it  is  added,  ''to  be 
had  in  reverence  of  all  them  that  are  about  him"  (Ps. 
Ixxxix.  7),  the  special  responsibility  of  ministering  ones 
— who  are  ''  about  him,"  as  if  at  his  hand — seems  mark- 
ed out. 

Ver.  4,  5,  6,  1.  "  What  man  soever  of  the  seed  of  Aaron  is  a  leper,  or 
hath  a  running  issue,  he  shall  not  eat  of  the  holy  things  until  he  be 
clean.    And  whoso  toucheth  anything  that  is  unclean  by  the  dead, 


3SQ     HOUSEHOLD  LAWS  REGARDING  HOLY  THINGS. 

or  a  man  whose  seed  goeth  from  him ;  or  whosoever  toucheth  any 
creeping  thing,  whereby  he  may  be  made  unclean,  or  a  man  of 
whom  he  may  take  uncleanness,  whatsoever  uncleanness  he  hath  : 
the  soul  which  hath  touched  any  such  shall  be  unclean  until  even, 
and  shall  not  eat  of  the  holy  things,  unless  he  wash  his  flesh  with 
water.  And  when  the  sun  is  down,  he  shall  be  clean,  and  shall 
afterwards  eat  of  the  holy  things ;  because  it  is  his  food." 

The  object  of  this  law  is  evidently  to  keep  the  priest 
at  all  times,  even  in  the  private  intercourse  of  home, 
vigilant,  jealous  of  evil,  abstaining  from  all  appearance 
of  evil.  These  causes  of  defilement  have  been  all  noticed 
in  former  chapters ;  some  of  them  could  be  known  only 
by  the  man  himself,  yet  in  the  most  retired  situation  the 
priest  must  be  holy  and  clean.  He  must  be  the  type  of 
Jesus. 

That  part  of  the  ordinance  which  enjoins  him  not  to 
**  eat  of  the  holy  things'^  in  such  circumstances,  is  to  be 
noticed.  These  "  holy  thing's^^  were  the  portions  of  the 
sacrifices  that  were  the  priest's  due.  They  were  pledges 
of  G-od's  fellowship  and  communion.  But  to  show  that 
he  is  a  holy  God,  he  will  not  hold  fellowship  even  with 
an  accepted  man,  if  the  man  regard  iniquity  in  his  heart. 
*'  If  we  say  we  have  fellowship  with  him  and  walk  in 
darkness,  we  lie,  and  do  not  the  truth."  (1  John  i.  6.) 
He  must  "  wash." 

And  it  is  to  be  observed  that  pollution  even  from 
^'  creeping  things'^  was  sufficient ;  that  is,  arising  from 
the  smallest  causes.  The  eye  of  the  Lord  pierces  through 
any  darkness,  and  the  heart  of  the  Lord  is  jealous  of  all 
sin,  however  small. 

"  Unclean  till  evening.''''  Though  an  accepted  man, 
yet  he  must,  like  Hezekiah,  "  walk  softly."  He  must 
take  time  to  meditate  on,  and  feel  his  pollution.  "  0  ! 
wretched  man  that  I  am  I" 


CHAPTER  XXII.  887 

In  all  this,  the  minister  of  Christ  is  addressed.  Moses 
speaks  to  us  also.  "Be  ye  clean  that  bear  the  vessels  of 
the  Lord." 

Vers.  8,  9,  10,  11,  12,  13,  "  That  which  dieth  of  itself,  or  is  torn  with 
beasts,  he  shall  not  eat,  to  defile  himself  therewith  :  I  am  the  Lord. 
They  shall,  therefore,  keep  mine  ordinance,  lest  they  bear  sin  for  it, 
and  die  therefore,  if  they  profane  it :  I  the  Lord  do  sanctify  them. 
There  shall  no  stranger  eat  of  the  holy  thing ;  a  sojourner  of  the 
priest,  or  an  hired  servant,  shall  not  eat  of  the  holy  thing.  But  if 
the  priest  buy  any  soul  with  his  money,  he  shall  eat  of  it,  and  he 
that  is  born  in  his  house  :  they  shall  eat  of  his  meat.  If  the  priest's 
daughter  also  be  married  unto  a  stranger,  she  may  not  eat  of  an 
offering  of  the  holy  things.  But  if  the  priest's  daughter  be  a  widow, 
or  divorced,  and  have  no  child,  and  is  returned  unto  her  father's 
house,  as  in  her  youth,  she  shall  eat  of  her  father's  meat ;  but  there 
shall  no  stranger  eat  thereof." 

Witsius  (De  Yita  Timothei)  describes  a  true  minister 
in  the  language  of  the  heathen  Seneca,  ''  Plus  tibi  et 
viva  vox  et  convictus  quam  oratio  proderit."  And 
Jerome  had  said  the  same,  "  Cujus  et  sermo,  et  incessus, 
et  habitus,  doctrina  virtutum  est." 

In  his  dwelling,  the  priest  shall  never  set  on  his  table 
anything  that  died  ^  natural  death,  or  was  torn — that  is, 
anything  that  spoke  of  death  and  violence.  All  he  eats 
must  have  a  savor  of  the  tabernacle.  A  sin  committed 
at  his  own  table,  by  violating  this  rule,  must  be  consider- 
ed worthy  of  death.  Man  of  God,  w^hat  is  thy  soul's 
feeling  at  the  table  whereon  thy  food  is  set  ?  Is  Grod 
honored  by  thee  there?  Is  there  a  savor  of  his  love 
breathed  forth  by  thee  in  presence  of  those  who  sit  at 
meat  ?  Doth  thy  spikenard  send  forth  its  smell  ?  Is  the 
law  of  thy  (3rod  seen  there,  even  as  in  thy  public  life  ? 
Kemember  his  words  :  "  /  am  the  Lord;''''  "  /  the  Lord 
do  sanctify  themP 


888      HOUSEHOLD   LAWS  REGARDINa  HOLY  THINGS. 

And  who  are  the  company  at  the  priest's  table,  as  he 
partakes  of  the  holy  things  ?  "  No  stranger''  shall  par- 
take of  these  with  him ;  that  is,  no  one  who  is  not  a 
priest*  No  one  who  is  only  a  sojourner,  no  servant 
hired  for  a  time  ;  but  any  inmate  such  as  a  perpetual  ser- 
vant, or  one  born  in  his  house,  may  eat,  being  reckoned 
one  of  the  family.  How  remarkably,  by  this  law,  does 
the  Lord  show  the  unity  of  a  household,  and  hold  up  the 
principle  that  the  servants  are  a  part  of  it,  even  as  the 
children  are.  "What  kindly  treatment,  what  deep  interest 
in  the  souls  of  servants,  this  was  fitted  to  produce  !  The 
priest's  family  must  be  a  model  for  the  other  families  of 
Israel ;  so  must  the  minister's. 

If  one  of  the  family  returned  home — if  the  daughter's 

husband  put  her  away  or  died,  and  she  sought  again  her 

father's  home — she  is  once  more  a  part  of  the  family. 

Formerly  she  was  one  with  her  husband,  and  so  was  not 

any  longer  properly  a  member  of  this  family  ;  and,  if  she 

have  a  child,  then  she  is  considered  as  having  a  separate 

household  of  her  own.     Whoever  is  really  of  the  priest's 

household  is  to  eat  of  the  holy  things,  and  none  else. 

Why  is  this  ?     Because  it  is  taken  for  granted  that  the 

household  of  the  priest  is  consecrated  to  the  Lord  more 

than  any  other  household.     A  peculiar  air  of  holiness  is 

understood  to  be  breathed  there.     It  is  a  holier  spot,  a 

more  deeply  sacred  circle.     As  Paul  writes,  "  One  that 

ruleth  well  his  own  house,  ....  with  all  gravity."     (1 

Tim.  iii.  4.) 

Vers.  14,  15,  16.     "  And  if  a  man  eat  of  the  holy  thing  unwittingly, 
then  he  shall  put  the  fifth  part  thereof  unto  it,  and  shall  give  it 

*  -It  so  means  ;  had  it  been  -133  it  would  have  meant,  one  of  a  foreign 
place,  or  nation.    See  Patrick. 


CHAPTER  XXII.  889 

unto  the  priest  with  the  holy  thing.  And  they  shall  not  profane 
the  holy  things  of  the  children  of  Israel,  which  they  offer  unto  the 
Lord  ;  or  suffer  them  to  bear  the  iniquity  of  trespass,  when  they 
eat  their  holy  things :  for  I  the  Lord  do  sanctify  them," 

As  there  was  a  fence  round  Sinai,  so  round  the  holy 
things  given  by  God  to  the  priests.  If  any  of  the  com- 
mon people — not  priests — partook  of  the  dedicated  food 
even  unwittingly,  he  was  guilty.  Therefore,  the  priests 
at  home,  when  friends  were  present  with  them,  must 
carefully  watch  against  being  the  occasion  of  sin  to 
others.  The  priests  will  be  counted  as  sharing  in  the 
sin;  '^profaning  the  holy  things;''''  and  this  they  must 
not  do,  neither  "  suffer  any  one  to  bear  the  iniquity  of 
trespass.''^ 

Ministers  of  Christ  may  be  guilty  of  leading  others 
into  sin,  if  they  do  aught  to  create  levity  in  the  people's 
minds,  or  aught  that  may  lessen  the  holy  feeling  of  rev- 
erence toward  God.  If  by  levity  at  home,  in  handling 
what  in  the  pulpit  was  treated  very  solemnly,  they  de- 
stroy any  one's  godly  fear  of  prying  into  the  ark,  then 
are  they  exposing  "holy  things"  to  the  unconscious  pro- 
fanation of  those  at  their  table. 

The  payment  of  "  the  fifth  part^^''  or  double  tithe,  was 
fitted  to  teach  the  transgressor,  that  he  had  defrauded 
God  of  his  due,  and  must  now  repay  what  he  could. 
Discovered  sins  should  excite  us  to  be  doubly  zealous  for 
the  future  in  repairing  the  Lord's  honor. 

Vers,  17,  18,  19,  20,  21.  "And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying, 
Speak  unto  Aaron,  and  to  his  sons,  and  unto  all  the  children  of 
Israel,  and  say  unto  them,  Whatsoever  he  be  of  the  house  of  Israel, 
or  of  the  strangers  in  Israel,  that  will  offer  his  oblation  for  all  his 
vows,  and  for  all  his  free-will  offerings,  which  they  will  offer  unto 
the  Lord  for  a  burnt-offering :  ye  shall  offer  at  your  own  will  a  male 
without  blemish,  of.  the  beeves,  of  the  sheep,  or  of  the  goats.     But 


390      HOUSEHOLD  LAWS  REGARDINa  HOLY  THLN-QS. 

■whatsoever  hath  a  blemish,  that  shall  ye  not  offer  :  for  it  shall  not 
be  acceptable  for  you.  And  whosoever  offereth  a  sacrifice  of  peace- 
offerings  unto  the  Lord  to  accomplish  his  vow,  or  a  free-will  offer- 
ing in  beeves  or  sheep,  it  shall  be  perfect  to  be  accepted :  there 
shall  be  no  blemish  therein." 

When  an  Israelite,  or  one  who  has  joined  himself  to 
Israel  ("  a  stranger,"  ver.  18),  has  made  a  vow,  or  re- 
solved to  bring  a  free-will  offering,  one  essential  condition 
is  that  it  be  unblemished,  and  that  it  be  a  male.  The 
"holy,  harmless,  undefiled  one"  is  ever  set  before  our 
eyes.  The  Lord  does  not  weary  of  the  sight ;  and  surely 
sinners  may  never  weary  of  the  sight  of  one  who  brings 
them  life  by  his  death.  So,  if  the  man  brought  any 
peace-ofFering,  there  must  be  no  blemish.  A  holy  G-od 
will  hold  no  fellowship  with  man  but  in  a  blameless  way ; 
no  peace  or  reconciliation,  except  through  an  unblemish- 
ed sacrifice.     But  see  chap.  i.  3. 

Ver.  22.  "  Blind,  or  broken,  or  maimed,  or  having  a  wen,  or  scurvy,  or 
scabbed,  ye  shall  not  offer  these  unto  the  Lord,  nor  make  an  offer- 
ing by  fire  of  them  upon  the  altar  unto  the  Lord." 

The  glorious,  perfect  antitype  would  be  misrepresented 
if  any  animal  was  offered  that  was  "  blind^''  (chap.  xxi. 
18),  or  '•''brokerC'  in  its  limbs,  or  '•''maimed^''  by  any 
wound,  rent  in  anyway  (j'^iiH  Gresenius) ;  or  ^'having 
a  iven^^  (^uvQutimibvTu  Sept.),  pimples  that  disfigured  its 
form,  or  "  scurvy''^  that  made  it  actually  disagreeable  to 
the  eye,  or  "  scabbed^''  the  dry  scab  making  its  touch 
polluting. 

Ver.  23.  "  Either  a  bullock  or  a  lamb  that  hath  anything  superfluous 
or  lacking  in  his  parts,  that  mayest  thou  offer  for  a  free-will-offer- 
ing ;  but  for  a  vow  it  shall  not  be  accepted." 

If  given  as  o.  free-ivill  offering,  it  showed  the  offerer's 
view  of  the  case,  and  not  the  Lord's  view,  nor  yet  the 


CHAPTER  XKII.  891 

priest's.  Hence,  his  presenting  from  his  herd  or  flock  an 
animal  that  wanted  an  eye,  or  an  ear,  or  the  like,  show- 
ed, indeed,  his  low  sense  of  what  was  due  to  the  Lord 
and  proper  as  a  type ;  but  in  as  much  as  it  was  done  of 
his  own  free-will,  to  express  the  present  state  of  his  feel- 
ings, it  might  be  taken  with  that  understanding.  Were 
it  a  vow^  then  it  could  not  be  received ;  for  the  priest 
was  responsible  in  that  case,  pronouncing  it  suitable  or 
unsuitable  by  rules  that  had  reference  to  the  perfection 
of  the  coming  antitype.  0  !  how  different  is  the  free- 
will offering  of  such  an  Israelite  as  this  from  Grod's  own 
free-ivill  offering  of  his  Son  !  The  Lord  has  measured 
the  narrowness  of  man's  soul ;  who  has  ever  measured 
the  unlimited  fulness  of  the  mind  of  Grod  ?  "  It  is  as 
high  as  heaven,  what  canst  thou  do  ?  deeper  than  hell, 
what  canst  thou  know  ?  The  measure  thereof  is  longer 
than  the  earth,  and  broader  than  the  sea."  (Job  xi.  8, 
9.)  Nor  is  his  love — this  one  attribute — less  wonderfully 
great  in  the  eyes  of  Paul,  who  sought  to  comprehend 
"  what  is  the  breadth^  and  lengthy  and  depth,  and  height, 
and  to  know  the  love  of  God  which  passeth  knowledge." 
If  our  faith  were  not  too  much  straitened  by  our  selfish, 
narrow  nature,  what  might  we  not  obtain  ?  For  Cyprian 
truly  writes  :  "  Quantum  illud  fidei  capacis  afferimus, 
tantum  gratice  inundantis  haurimusy  (Eph.  iii.  18, 
19.) 

Surely  the  free-will  gifts  of  men  discover  their  fallen, 
narrow  souls  !  and  placed  before  such  a  Grod,  they  make 
us  feel,  "  His  ways  are  not  as  our  ways,  nor  his  thoughts 
as  our  thoughts !"  And  what  a  bondage  to  self  shines 
through  these  narrow  gifts  of  men — in  amazing  contrast 
with  the  full-sou  led  liberality  of  him  who  for  our  sake 
emptied  his  own  bosom  of  his  beloved  Son ! 


892      HOUSEHOLD  LAWS  REGAEDING  HOLY  THINGS. 

Ver.  24.  "  Ye  shall  not  offer  unto  the  Lord  that  which  is  bruised,  or 
crushed,  or  broken,  or  cut ;  neither  shall  ye  make  an  oflfering  there- 
of in  your  land." 

Any  mutilation  was  a  misrepresentation  of  the  Anti- 
type ;  and  especially  any  castration  in  any  of  these  four 
ways.  Never  in  their  land  was  such  an  offering  to  be 
made ;  or,  as  some  render  it,  never  was  there  to  be  even 
such  a  custom  followed  in  their  land.*  The  surety  for 
us  Avas  truly  man ;  and,  as  in  all  things  but  sin  he  was 
made  like  his  brethren,  there  must  not  be  even  a  hint  in 
these  types  of  any  defect.  And  as  his  humanity  was  truly 
complete,  so  also  the  Lord  in  his  dealings  with  us  is  bring- 
ing about  our  restoration  to  perfect  humanity.  He  is  so 
intent  on  this,  that  he  says  that  he  would  not  be  called 
the  "  Grod  of  the  dead  ;"  he  must  be  "  Grod  of  the  living," 
for  these  only  are  truly  men — body  and  spirit.  Hence 
his  care  over  the  type,  that  it  hint  at  no  imperfection. 
Ah !  Lord,  why  carest  thou  thus  for  us  ?  What  has  led 
thee  to  these  kind  designs?  "  What  is  man  that  thou 
visitest  him  ?" 

Ver.  25.  "Neither  from  a  stranger's  hand  shall  ye  oiier  the  bread  of 
your  God  of  any  of  these ;  because  their  corruption  is  in  them,  and 
blemishes  be  in  them :  they  shall  not  be  accepted  for  you." 

Some  understand  this  as  forbidding  them  to  let  a 
stranger  supply  them  with  animals  for  sacrifice,  q.  d.^ 
take  it  not  out  of  a  stranger's  flock  or  herd.  Bat  this  is 
contrary  to  practice  approved  of  in  after  days  ;  as  when 
Cyrus  gave,  and  Darius  ordered  others  to  supply.  (Ezra 
vi.  9.) 

*  However,  if  this  last  were  the  meaning,  there  would  scarcely  have 
been  need  for  the  minute  prohibition  of  such  animals  in  sacrifice.  For 
who  would  be  in  danger  of  bringing  them  in  a  land  where  there  were  none 
of  them  ? 


CHAPTER  XXII.  393 

But  the  true  meaning  is  evidently,  that  the  same  rule 
shall  hold  in  regard  to  a  stranger's  offering  as  in  regard 
to  their  own.  "  The  stranger'''^  may  be  a  proselyte,  as 
ver.  18  ;  or  he  may  be  such  a  one  as  Cyrus.  "  Neither 
from  a  stranger's  hand  shall  ye  priests  offer  a  sacrifice  of 
any  of  these  maimed  or  imperfect  animals." 

The  Lord  must  be  known  as  "  having  no  respect  of 
persons,"  but  adhering  to  his  one  way  of  salvation,  viz., 
through  the  Perfect  Substitute. 

Vers.  26,  27.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  "When  a 
bullock,  or  a  sheep,  or  a  goat  is  brought  forth,  then  it  shall  be 
seven  days  under  the  dam  ;  and  from  the  eighth  day  and  thence- 
forth it  shall  be  accepted  for  an  offering  made  by  fire  unto  the 
Lord." 

This  precept  guards  the  type.  The  animal  sacrificed 
must  have  lived  a  complete  time,  "  seven  days."  For  the 
Antitype  was  not  to  be  offered  in  infancy,  but  to  live  the 
full  life  of  a  man  of  sorrows.  As  during  the  six  days  of 
creation  there  was  time  for  Grod  to  unfold  gradually  his 
creating  skill,  so  this  period  becomes  symbolical,  in  a 
manner,  of  sufficient  time  to  unfold  and  develop  any 
purpose.  Christ,  our  Surety,  was  to  live  far  beyond  in- 
fancy, tasting  the  world's  sorrow  as  he  breathed  its  air  *, 
taking  time  to  open  out  the  law  and  exhibit  conformity 
to  it  all,  ere  his  set  time  came  that  he  must  die. 


') 


Ver.  28.     "  And  whether  it  be  cow  or  ewe,  ye  shall  not  kill  it  and  her 
young  both  in  one  day." 

Some  say  this  was  meant  just  to  discourage  cruelty. 
No  doubt  it  had  this  effect.  But  the  typical  reason  lies 
hid,  and  is  very  precious.  The  Father  was  to  give  up 
his  Son ;  and  the  Son  was  to  be,  as  it  were,  torn  from 

the  Father's  care  by  the  hands  of  wicked  men.     How 

17* 


894      HOUSEHOLD  LAWS  EEGARDINa  HOLY  THINGS. 

could  this  be  represented  if  both  the  ewe  and  her  young 
were  offered  together  ?  This  part  of  the  truth  must 
never  be  obscured,  that  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he 
gave  his  Son.''''  And  the  bleatings  of  the  tender  lamb  in 
its  parent's  ears,  as  it  was  taken  from  the  fold,  filling 
the  air  with  sadness,  represented  the  bleatings  of  "  the 
Lamb  led  to  the  slaughter,"  who  so  sadly  wailed,  *'  Eli  I 
Eli !  lama  sabachthani."  And  as  these  rules  apply  to 
domestic  arrangements  about  what  they  were  to  carry 
out  of  their  houses  and  folds  for  the  altar,  we  see  thus  a 
picture  hung  up  in  every  house  in  Israel  of  that  great 
truth,  "  God  spared  not  his  Son,  but  delivered  him  up 
us  all." 

Vers.  29,  30,  31,  32,  33.  "  And  when  ye  will  offer  a  sacrifice  of  thanks- 
giving unto  the  Lord,  offer  it  at  your  own  will.  On  the  same  day 
it  shall  be  eaten  up ;  ye  shall  leave  none  of  it  until  the  morrow  :  I 
am  the  Lord.  Therefore  shall  ye  keep  my  commandments,  and  do 
them :  I  am  the  Lord.  Neither  shall  ye  profane  my  holy  name  ; 
but  I  will  be  hallowed  among  the  children  of  Israel :  I  am  the  Lord 
which  hallow  you,  that  brought  you  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  to  be 
your  God :  I  am  the  Lord." 

"When  in  their  houses  the  first  purpose  was  formed  of 
offering  a  thanksgiving,  each  one  must  see  that  the  pur- 
pose sprang  from  a  thankful  heart.  Let  none  be  induced 
to  bring  it  because  of  the  arguments  of  some  of  his 
friends,  or  because  it  might  appear  fitted  to  produce  an 
impression  in  his  favor  among  his  neighbors.  It  must 
be  "  at  your  own  wiliy  It  must  flow  spontaneously 
from  the  heart. 

So,  also,  it  must  not  be  laid  by,  as  if  you  were  intend- 
ing to  use  it  for  a  feast ;  leave  none  of  it  till  to-morrow. 
Use  it  at  the  time.  As  the  peace-offerings  represented 
communion  with  God,  reconciled  to  the  sinner,  they  must 


CHAPTER  XXII.  895 

represent  this  as  enjoyed  by  the  sinner  as  his  feast,  his 
joy,  his  chief  delight.  Now,  thanksgivings  were  of  this 
class ;  and  the  offerer  must  not  seek  any  selfish  gratifi- 
cation on  such  an  occasion,  but  must,  on  the  spot,  and  at 
the  time,  offer  all  to  his  God,  and  in  the  presence  of  his 
Grod,  satisfied  with  this  full  outpouring  of  his  own  soul 
to  the  Grod  who  pours  out  his  fellowship  in  return. 

Five  motives  are  strewn  on  their  path  to  constrain 
them  to  close  obedience.  1.  *'  /  am  the  LordP  This  is 
authority  employed.  2.  "  /  will  he  hallowed  among  the 
children  of  Israeli  This  is  his  holiness,  and  his  desire 
to  diffuse  awe  of  his  holy  name.  3.  "  /  am  the  Lord 
which  hallow  youP  Here  is  an  appeal  to  their  privileges 
as  Israelites.  Do  you  not  feel  that  you  actually  are  set 
apart  for  me  ?  4.  "  /  am  the  Lord  which  brought  you 
out  of  Egypt P  Here  is  his  claim  as  Redeemer,  who 
paid  the  price,  and  set  free  the  captives.  Is  there  grati- 
tude in  your  souls  ?  Is  there  sense  of  thankfulness  for 
favor  done  ?  5.  "  Your  God''' — as  well  as  your  Lord : 
his  claim  as  Father,  Shepherd,  King,  and  whatever  else 
there  is  that  is  tender  in  relationship,  or  beneficial  in 
office,  or  sweet  in  character — all  is  summed  up  in  "  your 
God  !"  Who  is  like  ''  Our  God  ?"  '•  Who  would  not 
/ear  thee?"     (Jer.  x.  7.) 


€l)t  ]Mlit  fmfmlB, 


OR    SOLEMN   CONVOCATIONS. 


"  NOT  FORSAKING  THE  ASSEMBLING  OF  YOURSELVES  TOGETHER." Hcb.  X.  25. 

"  THEY  CONTINUED  STEADFAST  IN  THE  APOSTLES'  DOCTRINE  AND  FELLOWSHIP." 

-Acts  ii.  42. 

"  A  DAY  IN  THY  COURTS  IS  BETTER  THAN  A  THOUSAND." Psalm  Ixxxiv.  10. 


CHAPTEE  XXIII. 

THE    SABBATH. 

Vers.  1,  2,  3.  "  And  tlie  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Speak  unto 
the  children  of  Israel,  and  say  unto  them,  Concerning  the  feasts  of 
the  Lord,  which  ye  shall  proclaim  to  be  holy  convocations,  even 
these  are  my  feasts.  Six  days  shall  work  be  done ;  but  the  seventh 
day  is  the  Sabbath  of  rest,  an  holy  convocation ;  ye  shall  do  no  work 
therein  :  it  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  in  all  your  dwellings." 

The  Lord  begins  withtlie  Sabbath.  "  The  assemblies 
(inri?^)  of  the  Lord  which  ye  shall  call  (by  sound  of 
trumpet.  Num.  x.  10)  to  be  holy  meetings,  these  (that 
follow)  are  my  assemblies."  Of  these,  the  foremost  is 
the  Sabbath. 

It  was  with  the  rest  of  the  Sabbath  that  unfallen  man 
was  blest ;  and  that  unfallen  rest  is  thus  ever  presented 
by  the  Lord  to  man  as  each  week  revolves. 

That  rest  was  the  Lord's  own  refreshing  rest,  made 


CHAPTER  XXIII.  397 

known  to  man,  to  be  shared  in  by  man  newly  created. 
The  eye  of  God  rested  on  his  holy  creation,  and  was  re- 
freshed ;  so  was  the  eye  of  man  to  rest  on  the  creation 
and  the  Creator,  and  be  refreshed.* 

This  Sabbaih-feast  is  to  be  ever  repeated,  each  week 
— as  a  testimony  of  the  Lord's  good- will  to  have  men  re- 
stored to  their  original  rest.  And  it  is  to  be  kept  when 
all  other  feasts  have  finished — a  type  of  the  deep  rest  yet 
to  come  when  earth's  sins  are  swept  away,  and  creation 
itself  is  restored  to  holiness,  and  the  liberty  of  the  sons 
of  God. 

It  is  beautifully  supposed  by  some,  that  IsraePs  feasts 
represent  the  Course  of  Time — this  earth's  days,  from 
creation  down  to  the  final  end.  The  Lamb  slain  (pass- 
over)  commences  it,  and  the  eighth  day  of  the  happy 
Feast  of  Tabernacles  is  its  close  ;  while  the  Sabbath,  the 
rest — God's  rest  in  himself,  and  his  creatures'  rest  around 
him — both  precedes  and  folloios  this  Course  of  Time. 

It  is  remarked,  that  "  no  work''''  whatever  was  to  be 
done  on  this  day ;  and  no  other  festival  has  so  strict  an 
injunction  put  on  it,  except  only  the  day  of  expiation. 
Thus,  the  rest  in  atonement  is  to  equal  the  rest  that  was 
enjoyed  in  an  unfallen  creation.  Is  it  so  with  thy  soul, 
believer  ?  Hast  thou  rest  in  God  as  if  thou  hadst  never 
sinned  ?  Hast  thou  no  more  conscience  of  sin  ?  Was 
not  the  rest  of  Jesus  as  deep  (nay,  deeper  might  we  not 
say  ?)  when  he  rested  from  his  agony,  as  was  the  Father's 
rest  after  creation  ?  And  thou  enterest  into  his  peace. 
Israel's  Sabbath  was  to  be  "jina^  ns^r, ''  a  rest-day  of  rest," 
a  thorough  season  of  repose  from  care  and  toil  (ver.  3) : 


*  It  is  a  Jewish  remark,  that  "  whoever  does  any  work  on  the  Sabbath 
denies  the  work  of  creation."    (Patrick.) 


398      PUBLIC  FESTIVALS,    OE    SOLEMN   CONVOCATIONS. 

SO,  surely,  ought  thine  to  be,  even  in  this  tumultuous 
world.  And  thy  soul  should  keep  its  constant  Sabbath, 
too,  since  thy  work  is  all  ended  by  thy  risen  Lord. 

THE    PASSOVER. 

Vers.  4,  5.  "  These  are  the  feasts  of  the  Lord,  even  holy  convocations, 
which  ye  shall  proclaim  in  their  seasons.  In  the  fourteenth  day  of 
the  first  month  at  even  is  the  Lord's  passover." 

The  first  feast  is  passover,  commemorating  their  escape 
from  Egypt.  The  Lord  finds  Israel  in  bondage,  and 
makes  him  free,  that  he  may  serve  him. 

''  The  lamb  slain"  is  the  first  object  held  up  to  the 
view  of  Israel  about  to  be  redeemed.  "  Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God !"  is  still  the  cry  that  first  reaches  a  sinner's  ear 
and  a  sinner's  heart.  Here  is  the  first  feast  for  fallen 
man.  What  grace  meets  the  sinner  !  God  meets  him 
with  the  Lamb^  and  that  Lamb  is  his  beloved  Son ; 
and  shows  him  in  that  Lamb  life  out  of  death,  even  life 
to  the  sinner  out  of  the  death  of  the  Son  of  God.  The 
first  altar  we  read  of  exhibited  a  lamb  slain ;  the  first 
act  of  God  for  Israel  is  the  slaying  of  the  lamb  ;  the  first 
deed  of  the  new  dispensation  was,  presenting  the  true 
Lamb  to  the  view  of  all,  and  then  ofi*ering  it  up  to  God  ; 
and  the  first  opening  of  the  sanctuary  above  (Rev.  iv.  1), 
where  the  coming  glory  is  preparing,  exhibits  the  Lamb 
that  was  slain^  loved,  adored,  ruling,  reigning,  with  all 
heaven  gazing  on  him  in  unutterable  transports  of  delight 
and  thankfulness. 

"We  should  notice,  however,  that  a  people  delivered  is 
essentially  connected  with  the  passover.  The  lamb  is 
not  slain  in  vain.  Behold  a  people  going  forth  in  perfect 
freedom,  in  the  fresh  joy  of  recent  deliverance  from  im- 
minent peril.     A  people  thus  escaped,  cheerful,  thankful, 


CHAPTER  XXIII.  899 

solemn,  with  a  heaven-ward  eye,  and  a  step  lifted  up 
to  tread  on  Canaan's  kingdom, — this  is  as  essential  to 
the  full  idea  of  the  passover  as  the  lamb.  Hence,  our 
Lord's  words  in  Luke  xxii.  16,  "I will  not  any  more  eat 
thereof  until  it  be  fulfilled  in  the  king'dom  of  God.''''  The 
Second  Coming  of  the  Lord  will  exhibit  the  full  line — the 
whole  company — of  blessed  ransomed  ones,  saved  forever 
from  wrath,  and  made  heirs  of  a  glorious  kingdom. 

THE  FEAST  OF  UNLEAVENED  BREAD. 

Vers.  6,  Y,  8.  "  And  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  same  month  is  the  feast 
of  unleavened  bread  unto  the  Lord  :  seven  days  ye  must  eat  un- 
leavened bread.  In  the  first  day  ye  shall  have  an  holy  convocation ; 
ye  shall  do  no  servile  work  therein.  But  ye  shall  ofler  an  offering 
made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord  seven  days  :  in  the  seventh  day  is  an 
holy  convocation :  ye  shall  do  no  servile  work  therein." 

We  might  have  expected  that  the  direction  which  fol- 
lows in  vers.  10,  11,  should  come  in  in  the  midst  of  this 
week  of  unleavened  bread  ;  but  as  they  were  then  in  the 
wilderness,  not  in  Canaan,  it  is  stated  apart. 

The  feast ^  then,  of  unleavened  bread^  was  meant  to 
be  a  continuation  of  the  same  topics  on  which  they  had 
begun  to  meditate  on  the  passover-night.  The  passover 
was  the  cause,  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread  the  effects 
of  their  deliverance  from  the  grasp  of  Egypt.  To  a  be- 
liever now,  the  one  exhibits  the  way  of  pardon,  the  other 
exhibits  the  fellowship  of  God,  and  the  holiness  that 
follows  upon  pardon. 

All  Israel  in  one  great  family  kept  the  first  day  as  a 
"  holy  convocation,"  wherein,  though  they  prepared  food, 
no  servile  work   was   done.     On  that  day  they   joined 

*  In  Mat.  xxvi.  IT,  and  Mark  xiv.  12,  the  passover  is  called  the  first  day 
of  unleavened  bread,  because  of  its  intimate  connection  with  it,  and  on  the 
evening  of  the  passover  the  feast  did  actually  begin. 


400      PUBLIC  FESTIVALS,   OR  SOLEMN  CONVOCATIONS. 


together  in  remembering  their  escape  ;  the  community  of 
believers  felt  on  that  holy  day  that  all  alike  were  ran- 
somed from  Egypt,  and  had  common  joys  and  common 
remembrances  of  sorrow,  and  common  reason  for  grati- 
tude now.  "  With  all  saints"  (Eph.  iii.  18)  they  could 
look  back  on  the  night  when  they  hastily  bound  up  the 
unleavened  dough  on  their  shoulders  and  hastened  out  of 
Egypt.  (Exod.  xiii.  34.)  Unleavened  bread  was  thus 
a  mark  of  begun  deliverance. 

Having  thus,  on  the  first  of  the  seven  days,  mutually 
excited  each  other's  feelings,  the  rest  of  the  days  were 
spent  in  remembrances  and  enjoyments  of  the  same 
things,  but  by  each  individual  alone.  Each  day,  after 
the  sacrifice  had  been  offered,  they  called  to  mind  their 
hasty  flight  from  Egypt  in  joy  and  fear,  associating  that 
deliverance  with  every  crumb  oi  unleavened  bread  on 
their  tables. 

But  the  Lord  had  a  reason  for  so  ordering  the  matter, 
that  it  should  be  necessary  to  leave  Egypt  before  leaven 
was  put  into  their  dough.  He  thus  brought  out  a  type 
of  the  truth,  that  a  delivered,  redeemed  man  must  shake 
off  his  former  connection  with  pollution.  His  deliverance  • 
from  corruption  (leaven)  is  to  date  its  commencement 
from  the  very  hour  he  rises  to  forsake  his  house  of  bond- 
age. And  all  saints  rejoice  to  keep  a  feast  to  this  effect 
— seeking  holiness  more  than  joy  in  their  festivals,  and 
rejoicing  in  deliverance  from  corruption  as  much  as  in 
deliverance  from  the  bondage  of  Egypt.  "We  are  re- 
deemed from  our  vain  conversation"  (1  Pet.i.  18)  as  well 
as  from  our  state  of  death  and  condemnation.  "  Purge 
out  the  old  leaven."     (1  Cor.  v.)* 

*  The  bitter  herbs,  elsewhere  mentioned,  may  have  taught  sorrow  over 


CHAPTER  XXIII.  401 

Though  not  mentioned  at  this  place,  it  was  during 
the  time  that  this  feast  of  seven  days  ran  on  that  the 
sheaf  of  first-fruits  of  barley  harvest  was  presented  ;  thus 
casting  in  a  new  element  of  joy  to  the  worshippers,  sweet- 
ening their  cup,  and  giving  a  relish  to  their  food  by  the 
held-up  prospect  of  abundance  soon  to  be  theirs.  A  risen 
Saviour  and  his  benefits  never  fail  to  urge  on  the  felt 
joy  of  every  believer's  soul ;  he  returns  ever  to  that 
pledge  of  plenty,  "  Christ  is  risen."  But  more  of  this  at 
ver.  11. 

On  the  closing  day,  the  seventh,  after  each  had  spent 
the  intervening  space  alone,  there  was  a  ''  holy  convoca- 
tion" again.  Thus  they  fired  each  other's  heart  anew. 
They  offered  a  sacrifice  peculiar  to  the  day,  and  rejoiced 
at  the  altar  for  all  the  great  blessings  they  had  been  com- 
memorating and  receiving.  The  first  and  the  last  of  the 
feast-days  was  thus  a  day  of  rest,  for  meditation  on  the 
past,  and  preparing  for  a  return  to  ordinary  duties. 

THE    SHEAF  OF   FIRST-FRUITS. 

Vers.  9,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying, 
Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  and  say  unto  them.  When  ye  be- 
come into  the  land  which  I  give  unto  you,  and  shall  reap  the  harvest 
thereof,  then  ye  shall  bring  a  sheaf  of  the  first-fruits  of  your  harvest 
unto  the  priest ;  and  he  shall  wave  the  sheaf  before  the  Lord,  to  be 
accepted  for  you :  on  the  morrow  after  the  Sabbath  the  priest  shall 
wave  it.  And  ye  shall  ofter  that  day  when  ye  wave  the  sheaf  an 
he-lamb  without  blemish  of  the  first  year  for  a  burnt-offering  unto 
the  Lord,  And  the  meat-ofiering  thereof  shall  be  two  tenth-deals 
of  fine  flour  mingled  with  oil,  an  offering  made  by  fire  unto  the 
Lord  for  a  sweet  savor  ;  and  the  drink-oflering  thereof  shall  be  of 
wine,  the  fourth  part  of  an  hin.  And  ye  shall  eat  neither  bread, 
nor  parched  corn,  nor  green  ears,*  until  the  self-same  day  that  ye 


the  lost  and  ruined  Egyptians,  and  over  their  own  sin,  which  exposed  them 
to  the  sword  of  destruction. 

*  'i/Q'nS  is  uaed  here,  and  chap.  iL  14,  and  Num.  xviii.  13.    This  term. 


402      PUBLIC  FESTIVALS,    OR  SOLEMN  CONVOCATIONS. 


have  brought  an  offering  unto  your  God:  it  shall  be  a  statute  for- 
ever throughout  your  generations  in  all  your  dwellings," 

First  notice  this  institution  as,  like  the  rest,  bearing 
on  the  people's  present  state.  See  its  reference  to  their 
harvest.  It  is  the  barley-heLYvest  that  is  meant,  for  it 
only  is  ripe  at  passover.  A  sheaf  is  taken  as  represen- 
tative of  the  v^rhole  harvest.  It  was  to  be  observed  on 
the  first  day  after  passover-  Sabbath  ;  and  that  happened 
to  fall  sometimes  on  the  third  day  after  passover,  some- 
times later.  The  priest  waved  it  before  Grod,  along  with 
the  sacrifice  of  a  he-lamb — intimating  that  even  thanks- 
giving cannot  be  accepted  but  through  blood  and  through 
a  mediator.  There  was  a  meat-offering  besides — two 
tenth-deals — double  thexisual  amount,  because  here  they 
are  expressly  offering  property  to  Grod  ;  and  the  fourth 
part  of  the  hin  of  wine  (the  usual  rate)  indicates  that 
they  did  all  this  most  cheerfully,  no  grudging,  no  reluc- 
tance,^ (Ps.  civ.  15.)  Till  this  was  done,  they  had  no 
right  even  to  a  green  ear  (ver.  14).  How  forcibly  it 
taught  dependence  on  the  Lord  !  (Hos.  ii.  8,  9  ;  Jer.  v. 
24.)  Yet  how  gently  did  the  Lord  thus  bind  fast  the 
bonds  of  connection  between  him  and  his  people.  They 
must  dip  every  temporal  blessing  in  this  fountain  of  life 
ere  they  ventured  to  use  it ;  but  what  was  this  but 
sweetening  it  to  their  taste  ?  They  remembered  that  he 
who  in  the  desert  daily  gave  them  manna,  had  ripened 
harvest  for  their  present  use.     They  had  found  it  ready 

for  ^^ fall  ears  of  corn,"  occurs  only  once  elsewhere,  viz.,  2  Kings  iv.  42.  It 
was  a  term  not  used  in  common  life,  but  appro23riate  to  things  presented 
for  holy  uses.  Hence  (see  Hengstenberg,  on  the  Gen.  of  the  Pentateuch, 
Dissert.  II.),  that  man  of  Baal-shalisha  appears  to  have  been  one  who 
intended  to  recognize  Elisha  as  God's  true  Levite,  while  he  refused  to  rec- 
ognize the  apostate  Church  which  Jeroboam  had  organized. 
*  The  drmk-offering  has  been  spoken  of,  p.  53. 


I 


CHAPTER  XXIII.  403 

on  the  very  week  of  their  entering  Canaan.     (Josh.  v. 

11.) 

Next,  view  it  as  typical.  The  sheaf  is  evidently 
Christy  the  fii'st-fruits  {^nuQxn  Xqiaxog^  1  Cor.  xv.  23). 
Jesus  rose  on  the  third  day  after  passover  ;  and  this  has 
become  our  Sabbath  ever  since.*  Jesus  was  the  first- 
fruits.  Being  in  our  true  and  very  nature,  he  rose  as 
our  head.  The  Father  was  waiting  for  his  presentation 
— his  "  being  waved  ;"  and  this  was  done  when,  raised 
from  the  dead  by  the  Spirit  of  holiness,  he  stood  at  the 
opened  sepulchre,  no  more  a  Man  of  Sorrows.  His  life 
of  sorrows  had  that  morning  ripened  into  the  full  ear  of 
bliss ;  and  there  he  stood  in  the  sunshine  of  eternal  love. 
And  He  stood,  on  our  earth  and  in  our  nature,  not  for 
himself  personally  so  much  as  "  first-fruits" — pledge  and 
earnest  of  all  the  harvest ;  because  He  was  accepted  by 
the  Lord,  therefore  shall  we  also  be.  Until  He  was  thus 
presented  and  accepted,  none  of  us  could  speak  of  a 
harvest  day  (ver.  14) ;  no  blessing  was  secured  to  us  or 
free  to  our  use. 

The  first  time  that  the  Jews  ever  waved  the  sheaf 
before  the  Lord  must  have  been  on  their  first  entering 
the  land.  They  entered  and  found  the  barley  ripe  for 
use.  This  was  "  on  the  morroiv  after  the  passover,''^ 
(Josh.  V.  11.)  On  that  day  they  would  eat  the  old  corn 
and  unleavened  cakes ;  and  that  very  day  would  cut 
down  the  sheaf  of  first-fruits,  to  be  waved  "  on  the  morrow 
after  the  Sabbath."  (Lev.  xxiii.  11.)  Thus  the  first 
employment  of  Israelin  Canaan  was  preparing"  the  type 
of  the  Saviour'' s  resurrection,  and  their  first  religious  act 

*  Perhaps  he  himself  appointed  it  to  be  so  ;  ti  KvpiaKn  fifiepa  (Rev.  i.  10) 
may  mean  this  as  much  as  in  1  Cor.  xl  20,  "  KvpiuKov  itnrvov"  means,  tho 
Supper  instituted  by  the  Lord. 


404      PUBLIC   FESTIVALS,   OR  SOLEMN  CONVOCATIONS. 

was  holding  up  that  type  of  a  risen  Saviour.  Their  land 
was  to  be  renowned  for  this  wonder  more  than  any  other, 
— resurrection  I  and  that  resurrection  implying  redemp- 
tion and  completed  deliverance.  The  paschal  lamb  in 
Egypt  showed  deliverance  begun ;  this  showed  it  finished. 

This  first  sheaf  is  the  pledge  of  our  resurrection^  as 
well  as  acceptance  ;  or  rather,  of  our  declared  acceptance 
and  full  freedom  hy  our  resurrection,  Christ  is  "  first- 
fruits  of  them  that  sleep."  (1  Cor.  xv.  20.)  It  is  type 
and  pledge  of  our  harvest — this  earth's  season  of  ripe 
increase — the  day  for  which  every  providence,  every 
event  has  been  preparing — the  day  for  which  every  blast 
and  every  hour  of  sunshine  has  been  ripening  the  wide 
fields — the  people,  cities,  and  hamlets  of  the  whole  world. 
"  Christ  the  first-fruits ;  then  they  that  are  Chrisfs 
at  his  coming^  The  Lord  himself  will  then  rejoice  with 
joy  of  the  harvest.  When  Israel  tasted  the  barley  of 
Canaan,  then  were  they  fully  sensible  of  completed  de- 
liverance from  Egypt  and  from  the  desert.  Tasting  even 
Marah'Wells  made  them  know  they  were  escaped  from 
Egypt ;  but  it  must  be  receiving  the  harvest  of  the  land 
that  assured  them  of  their  complete  escape  from  the 
desert.  So  the  believing  soul  feels  his  escape  from  sin 
and  the  law  even  by  the  frowns  of  a  self-righteous  world, 
and  his  sorrow  in  the  midst  of  its  sin  :  that  resurrection 
(of  which  Christ  was  the  earnest,  or  first-fruits)  will  be 
his  blessed  assurance  that  every  hardship  of  the  desert 
also — and  so  every  remaining  mark  of  having  come 
from  Egypt — is  obliterated  and  forever  gone. 

Thus  the  "  sheaf  of  first-fruits''^  was  like  a  ''  heap  set 
about  with  lilies  ;"  so  many  truths,  %o  many  visions  of 
the  future,  so  many  tokens  of  Divine  purpose  begun, 
clustering  round  it  when  it  was  waved  before  the  Lord. 


CHAPTER  XXIII.  405 

FEAST    OF    WEEKS, 

or,  as  it  is  otherwise  called,  *'  Feast  of  Fifty  Days  ;"  in 
Greek,  nepTijxoau]^  Pentecost. 

Vers.  15,  16.  "  And  ye  shall  count  unto  you  from  the  morroTV  after 
the  Sabbath,  from  the  day  that  ye  brought  the  sheaf  of  the  wave- 
offering  ;  seven  Sabbaths  shall  be  complete  :  even  unto  the  morrow 
after  the  seventh  Sabbath  shall  ye  number  fifty  days ;  and  ye  shall 
offer  a  new  meat-offering  unto  the  Lord." 

There  is  a  way  of  viewing  these  feasts  as  containing  a 
prefiguration  of  the  different  dispensations  which  the 
Lord  has  chosen  for  the  manifestations  of  his  ways  to 
man.  In  this  case,  we  can  easily  see  that  the  coming 
Feast  of  Tabernacles  refers  to  the  millennial  glory  ; 
but  to  what  do  Passover  and  Pentecost  refer  ?  Pass- 
over seems  peculiarly  to  describe  IsraeVs  dispensation^ 
it  is  a  time  of  exhibiting  blood  poured  out  for  the  people's 
deliverance ;  and  if  so,  Pentecost  may  be  considered  as 
descriptive  of  the  dispensation  that  followed,  viz.,  the  apos- 
tolic Church  instinct  with  the  fruits  of  a  Saviour's  death, 
resurrection,  and  ascension.  Our  Lord's  stay  on  earth 
for  forty  days  after  his  resurrection,  and  his  ten  days  in 
heaven  before  the  day  of  Pentecost,  exhibited  in  earth 
and  heaven  the  blood  of  Passover  fully  poured  out  and 
needing  no  more  to  be  repeated  ;  and  thus  brought  that 
dispensation  to  a  close. 

There  were  to  be  "  Seven  Sabbaths'^''  running  their 
course  ere  another  feast  came — to  indicate  a  full  and 
comjjlete  period,  during  which  ordinances  and  services 
were  carried  on  appropriate  to  the  time.  Israel's  system 
had  a  full  development  during  this  passover-time. 

At  the  close  of  the  "  seven  weeks^^^  the  new  meat-offer' 
ing  was  to  be  brought  forward ;  that  is,  the  first-fruits 
of  the  new,  or  wheaten  harvest. 


406      PUBLIC  FESTIVALS,   OR  SOLEMN  CONVOCATIONS. 

Vers.  17,  18,  19,  20,  21.  "  Ye  shall  bring  out  of  your  habitations  two 
wave-loaves  of  two  tenth -deals :  they  shall  be  of  fine  flour  ;  they 
shall  be  baken  with  leaven  ;  they  are  the  first-fruits  unto  the  Lord. 
And  ye  shall  offer  with  the  bread  seven  lambs  without  blemish  of 
the  first  year,  and  one  young  bullock,  and  two  rams :  they  shall  be 
for  a  burnt-offering  unto  the  Lord,  with  their  meat-offering,  and 
their  drink-offerings,  even  an  offering  made  by  fire  of  sweet  savor 
unto  the  Lord.  Then  ye  shall  sacrifice  one  kid  of  the  goats  for  a 
sin-offering,  and  two  lambs  of  the  first  year  for  a  sacrifice  of  peace- 
offerings.  And  the  priest  shall  wave  them  with  the  bread  of  the 
first-fruits  for  a  wave-offering  before  the  Lord,  with  the  two  lambs  : 
they  shall  be  holy  to  the  Lord  for  the  priest.  And  ye  shall  pro- 
claim on  the  self-same  day,  that  it  may  be  an  holy  convocation  unto 
you  ;  ye  shall  do  no  servile  work  therein :  it  shall  be  a  statute  for- 
ever in  all  your  dwellings  throughout  your  generations." 

We  here  see  tlmt  the  first-fruits  of  ivheai  harvest  were 
to  be  presented  on  the  fiftieth  day  after  the  waving  of  the 
barley-sheaf.  But  they  were  not  to  be  offered  in  the 
form  of  a  sheaf.  They  are  to  be  made  into  two  loaves 
of  breads  which  the  priest  (ver.  20)  shall  afterwards  feed 
upon.  A  special  quantity  of  flour,  double  the  quantity 
of  a  common  meat-offering,  was  to  be  taken  from  some 
Israelite's  dwelling,  and  baked  into  loaves,  and  so  waved 
before  the  Lord.  There  was  to  be  "  leaven''^  in  the 
loaves ;  for  they  were  to  be  loaves  found  among  men  in 
daily  use — thereby  presenting  to  the  Lord  a  thanksgiving 
for  their  supply  of  food,  even  of  the  finest  of  the  wheat. 

But  of  what  was  all  this  typical  ?  "We  reply,  1.  These 
first-fruits  do  not  seem  to  typify  Christ  himself;  for  then 
there  would  have  been  no  leaven.  2.  Neither  do  they 
seem  to  typify  the  gift  of  the  Holy  G-host  ;  for  what  is 
there  here  significant  of  the  Spirit  peculiarly  ?  But,  3. 
They  typify  something'  made  out  of  wheat-seed.  If  so, 
then,  we  find  in  John  xii.  24,  that  Jesus  is  the  corn  of 
wheat ;  and  here  we  will  have  ivhat  was  produced  from 
that  seed  of  wheat.     The  two  loaves^  made  out  of  the 


CHAPTER  XXIII.  407 

wheat-seed,  are  Ms  Churchy  which  sprang  from  him  who 
died ;  made  of  finer  flour  than  the  Old  Testament  econ- 
omy (the  passover  economy)  furnished,  because  the  Spirit 
is  abundantly  given ;  taken  from  the  common  abodes  of 
men  (John  xvii.  5),  and  becoming  part  of  the  body  of  our 
High  Priest. 

They  are  two  in  number,  also ;  just  as  in  Rev.  xi.  3, 
and  Zech.  iv.  3  two  is  the  number  ;  an  adequate  number, 
but  net  seven  ;  for  that  would  have  signified  a  complete 
num.bDr.  It  seems,  too,  to  be  Chrisfs  Church  after  he 
was  risen  ;  viz.,  his  Church  founded  by  Apostles.  Some, 
indc'id,  say  that  the  two  loaves  point  to  the  two  dispen- 
sations of  his  Church — Jew*  and  Gentile  ;  but  the  pro- 
gressive order  of  the  types  is  against  this  view.  The 
types  have  shown  us  Christ's  dying — the  passover  lamb  ; 
then  his  rising  again — the  sheaf  waved  ;  and  now  what 
he  accomplished  at  Pentecost  in  proof  of  his  being  as- 
cended. The  result  was,  the  production  of  a  Church, 
in  which  there  was  leaven,  or  corruption,  still ;  but 
which  was  of  fine  wheat,  the  Holy  Grhost  being  now 
given. 

I  suppose  "  Christ  ascended y''"'  might  have  been  typi- 
fied by  the  waving  of  a  ^'  sheaf  of  fine  wheat^''  his  own 
glorious  body,  when  ascended,  being  fine  wheat ;  but  he 
prefers  to  show  how  that  body  became  food  to  a  blessed 
company  of  souls^  whom  he  called  to  be  his  Church,  in 
whom  there  was  imperfection  still,  as  denoted  by  the 
leaven.  These  two  loaves  are  the  fruit  of  the  one  corn 
of  wheat  (John  xii.  24),  or  a  specimen  of  the  harvest 
that  has  sprung  from  that  One.    Look  over  the  land,  and 

*  There  can  properly  be  no  symbolic  type  of  the  Jewish  Church,  for 
that  Church  itself  was  a  symbol  of  what  was  yet  to  come — "  good  things 
to  come." 


408      PUBLIC  FESTIVALS,    OR  SOLEMN   CONVOCATIONS. 

everywhere  you  find  the  ripe  wheat  ready  to  be  gathered 
into  the  granaries;  even  so  the  Church,  exhibited  in  its 
beginnings  at  Pentecost,  was  to  increase  and  spread,  and 
be  found  ail  over  earth  ;  but  all  originating  in  Christ,  the 
seed. 

And  ever  to  keep  us  in  mind  that  our  blessings,  and 
G-od's  doings  for  us,  are  the  effects  and  fruits  of  atone- 
ment, many  sacrifices  are  to  attend  this  offering  of  first- 
fruits.  ^  It  is  meant,  thereby,  to  keep  us  on  earth  as 
intently  fixing  our  eye  on  the  Lamb  of  God,  as  those 
round  the  throne.  Hence  we  have  here  the  injunction  to 
offer,  1.  A  very  complete  burnt-offering,  seven  lambs, 
two  rams,  one  bullock — victims  of  all  the  usual  sorts. 
2.  The  usual  meat-offering.  3.  The  usual  drink-offering. 
4.  A  kid,  as  usual,  for  sin-offering.  Then,  5.  A  special 
peace-offering.  This  last  was  to  be  two  tender  lambs,  as 
if  one  along  with  each  of  the  two  loaves.  And  over  these 
two  lambs  of  peace-offering,  the  two  loaves  were  to  be 
waved.*  The  priest  is  thus  directed  to  exhibit  the  peace 
between  God  and  his  Church  by  waving  the  two  loaves 
over  the  two  lambs !  "  We  have  peace  ivith  God 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  ChrisV^  is  the  voice  of  the  whole 
Church  of  God.  The  tiuo  ivitnesses  on  earth  ever  cry, 
"  The  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  laid  upon  him^''  as 
they  look  on  the  slain  Lamb.  "  We  have  fellowship  one 
with  another — truly  our  fellowship  is  with  the  Father — 
and  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  his  Son,  cleanseth  us  from 
all  sin."  Peace  and  fellowship  through  blood  is  the  ex- 
perience of  every  saint — the  loaves  are  presented  to  the 
Lord  over  the  lamhs  of  the  peace-offering  1 

This  day  was  to  be  proclaimed  a  "  holy  convocation"! 

*  "  With  the  two  lambs"  is  V55   "  over  " 

f  I  do  not  see  why  our  translators  have  adopted  so  awkward  a  render- 


CHAPTER  XXIII.  409 

— kept  like  a  Sabbath,  excepting  that  work  might  be 
done,  if  it  was  not  "  servile  work."  The  reason  for  so 
specially  saying,  "  that  self-same  day^"*  is,  that  on  this 
occasion  there  was  no  season  or  space  of  time  kept,  like 
as  at  the  offering  of  the  sheaf;  there  was  only  one  day. 
The  Jews  say  that  this  feast  commemorated  the  giving 
of  the  law  on  Sinai ;  but  not  one  word  of  this  object  is 
mentioned  here,  or  in  any  of  the  passages  of  Scripture 
that  refer  to  this  feast.  That  idea  is  evidently  an  idea 
started  by  the  Jews  themselves ;  they  did  not  receive  it 
from  Grod.  And  it  is  natural  for  them  to  adhere  to  it 
while  they  know  not  the  glory  of  an  ascended  Saviour. 
For  this  feast  has  no  meaning  that  can  be  discovered 
except  in  Him  who  is  "gone  up,  and  has  received  gifts 
for  men."  But  to  us  how  significant !  It  tells  of  Jesus 
ascended,  and  of  the  proofs  he  gave  of  his  ascension,  in 
"  shedding  down  the  Spirit."  (Acts  ii.  33.)  Indeed,  we 
may  use  these  feasts  as  a  symbolic  language  for  the 
grand  facts  on  which  our  hope  and  joy  depend.  The 
passover  is  just  symbolic  language  for  "  Christ  died  for 
our  sins."  The  waving  of  the  sheaf  is  symbolic  language 
for  "  Christ  is  risen  from  the  dead,  and  become  the  first- 
fruits  of  them  that  sleep."  The  waving  of  the  tivo  loaves 
at  the  commencement  of  wheat-harvest,  is  symbolic 
language  to  express  the  words  of  Jesus,  "  Verily,  verily, 
unless  a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it 
abideth  alone  ;  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit. 
....  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  shall  draw 
all  men  unto  me."  Here  is  the  fruit  of  *'  the  corn  of 
wheat" — here  are  two  loaves  !  a  specimen  and  earnest 
of  abundance  beyond  measure,  all  arising  from  the  one 

ing  as  we  find  in  the  text.    It  is  quite  literally  rendered  thus — "  Ye  shall 
proclaim,  on  the  self-same  day,  a  holy  convocation  to  you." 

18 


410      PUBLIC  FESTIVALS,   OR  SOLEMN   CONVOCATIONS, 


seed  of  wheat!  And  in  due  time,  the  Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles will  express  to  us  the  truth  contained  in  the  words, 
"  The  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  he  will  dwell 
among  them ;"  or  in  the  saying  of  the  Master  himself, 
*'  I  will  not  leave  you  orphans ;  I  will  come  unto  you." 

Oh,  to  be  able  to  see  the  wonders  of  thy  law,  0  Grod ! 
Anoint  our  eyes  with  eye-salve.  Lead  us  through  these 
types  thyself,  as  thine  angel  led  John  through  the  won- 
drous streets  of  New  Jerusalem.  Show  us  here  the  pre- 
cious stones,  and  the  fine  gold ;  yea,  let  the  Lamb  him- 
self be  our  light,  as  he  has  said,  "  I  will  send  you  an- 
other Comforter,  and  when  He,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  is 
come,  he  will  lead  you  into  all  the  truth,"  even  as  he 
shall,  in  person,  lead  us  yet  to  fountains  of  living  waters. 

Ver.  22.  "And  when  ye  reap  the  harvest  of  your  land,  thou  shalt  not 
make  clean  riddance  of  the  corner  of  the  field  when  thou  reapest, 
neither  shalt  thou  gather  any  gleaning  of  thy  harvest ;  thou  shalt 
leave  them  unto  the  poor,  and  to  the  stranger :  I  am  the  Lord  your 
God." 

See  chap.  xix.  9.  In  this  manner,  love  to  man  was 
taught  in  these  thanksgiving  feasts,  at  the  very  time  they 
taught  love  to  the  God  who  so  kindly  gave  them  their 
plenty. 

This  may  be  considered,  farther,  as  a  rule  applicable 
to  both  harvests,  viz.,  barley  and  wheat  harvest — being 
placed  at  the  close  of  the  directions  given  for  both.  Now, 
some  have  thought  that  this  gleaning  left  to  the  poor,  in 
corners  of  the  fields  and  scattered  up  and  down^  may 
refer  figuratively  to  the  remnant  to  be  gathered,  during 
this  dispensation  of  the  Christian  Church,  from  Israel. 
I  would  rather  apply  it  to  both  dispensations.  During 
Israel's  dispensation  (barley-harvest)  there  were  to  be 
handfuls  left  to  the  stranger.     This  may  be  the  Gentile 


CHAPTER  XXIII.  411 

remnant  brought  to  know  Jehovah  in  that  age,  such  as 
Rahab,  Ruth,  Ittai,  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  Hiram,  king  of 
Tyre,  the  Widow  of  Sarepta,  Naaman,  and  the  Recha- 
bites.  Then,  during  the  Christian  dispensation,  there 
have  been  gleanings  left  for  Israel,  now  a  stranger,  and 
poor  and  needy,  as  at  this  day  we  see  in  the  converted 
Jews  of  our  own  land,  or  at  Pesth,  or  even  in  the  late 
Bishop  of  Jerusalem. 

A  feast  is  coming  on  that  will  unite  Jew  and  Grentile 
in  equal  fulness. 

THE    FEAST    OF    TRUMPETS. 

Vers.  23,  24,  25.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Speak 
unto  the  children  of  Israel,  saying,  In  the  seventh  month,  in  the 
first  day  of  the  month,  shall  ye  have  a  sabbath,  a  memorial  of 
blowing  of  trumpets,  an  holy  convocation.  Ye  shall  do  no  servile 
work  therein  :  but  ye  shall  offer  an  offering  made  by  fire  unto  the 
Lord." 

Instead  of  ''  But  ye  shall  offer,"  it  is  better,  as  it  is 
more  literal,  to  read,  "  And  ye  shall  offer." 

The  seventh  month  is  a  kind  of  sabbatical  months  full 
of  feast  and  fast  days.  It  was  also  the  beginning  of 
their  civil  year.  The  Heathen  kept  their  new  year  with 
mirth  and  folly  ;  Israel  keeps  his  with  joy  and  solemnity. 
His  new  year  ever  reminds  him  of  the  coming  on  of  a 
period  of  jubilee  and  joy,  when  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles 
shall  be  kept ;  so  that  their  new  year's  mirth  was,  for 
the  most  part,  caused  by  the  prospect  of  things  to  come. 

No  month  opened  to  Israel  such  a  scene  of  rejoicing  as 
did  this ;  for  no  other  had  in  it  the  Expiation-day  and 
the  Feast  of  Tabernacles.  Hence,  it  is  very  probable 
that  this  month's  Feast  of  Trumpets  was  "  the  joyful 
somid'''  referred  to  in  Ps.  Ixxxix.  15,  "  Blessed  are  the 
people  who  know   the  joyful    sound"  (nsnn  as   here). 


412      PUBLIC  FESTIVALS,    OR  SOLEMN   CONVOCATIONS. 

Where  else  are  there  a  people  who  know  at  once  of  full 
atonement  and  of  the  joy  of  tabernacle  feast^  present 
acceptance  and  future  glory  ?  At  the  same  time,  the 
^'■joyful  souncf^  might  equally  refer  to  the  silver  trumpets 
which  summoned  the  people  to  all  the  solemn  services 
of  this  chapter.  For  Num.  x.  7,  8,  proves  that  they 
were  sounded  on  occasion  of  each  of  these  solemnities, 
though  more  especially  on  "  the  Feast  of  Trumpets.^^ 
The  people  who  know  "  justice  and  judgment,  mercy  and 
truth,"  all  harmonized,  enter  fully  into  the  blessedness  of 
this  joyful  sound. 

But  why  is  it  called  "  a  memorial  .^"  What  does  it 
keep  in  memory  ?  Some  say  it  kept  the  Creation  in 
memory,  being  the  first  day  of  the  common  year,*"  as 
Abib — the  passover-month — was  the  first  day  of  the 
sacred  year,  celebrating  redemption.  If  so,  it  might  be 
held  as  a  memorial  of  the  "  sons  of  God  shouting  for 
joy'"'  at  the  world's  foundation  ;  for  the  original  word  is 
the  same  as  that  used  for  "  the  glad  sound^''  and  "  the 
blowing  of  trumpetsr\  And  we  might  take  into  view, 
also,  the  suggestion  of  others,  that  the  trumpet-sound^ 
which  so  often  is  connected  with  the  voice  of  G-od  (e.  g., 
Exod.  xix.  19 ;  Rev.  i.  10),  was  a  special  memorial  of 
God  having,  in  those  days,  spoken  with  man — a  sound 
more  joyful  far  thani  all  the  shouting  of  the  sons  of  God. 

But  I  rather  think  this  feast  was  a  memorial  in  another 
sense.  We  read  of  a  memorial^  chap.  ii.  9,  in  the  sense 
of  something  taken  or  done  to  keep  in  view  what  was 
lying  in  sight,  though  not  brought  forward.  In  Levit- 
icus, the  term  ''  memoriaV  does  not  mean  the  keeping 


*  Exodus  xxxiv,  22,  speaks  of  it  as  happening  "  in  the  end,"  or  rather 
d  the  revolution  of  the  year," 
f  It  is  !i:J^"|1,  Job  xxxviii.  I- 


"  at  the  revolution  of  the  year,"   nsi^n  ns^lDH 

T     -  -      I 


CHAPTER  XXIII.  413 

in  memory  of  a  thing  past.  Many  have  erred  from  over- 
looking the  sense  of  the  term.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  ceremonial 
or  tabernacle  term,  signifying  something  done  in  order  to 
call  attention  to  something  yet  remaining.  It  should 
be  rendered,  "  a  reminding^''  of  something  present,  or  of 
something  just  at  hand  ;  rather  than  "  memorial^''''  which 
suggests  the  past.  In  Hebrew,  the  term  is  Ti^^t,  from 
the  same  root  as  D'^'i'^st^ri,  Isaiah  Ixii.  6,  "  Ye  who  are 
the  remembrancers  of  the  Lord,"  reminding  him  of  what 
is  to  be  done.  So,  also,  Exod.  iii.  16,  "  This  is  my  name 
forever,  and  my  memoriaV  C^"}^!),  q.  d.,  to  remind  my 
people  of  what  I  still  am,  and  may  be  expected  to  do. 
So  also,  Acts  X.  4,  ''  Thy  prayers  and  thine  alms  are  come 
up  for  a  memorial  before  G-od" — to  remind  him  what  to 
do  for  thee  ;  every  prayer  and  every  giving  of  alms  called 
the  attention  of  God  to  the  centurion.  The  v/ord  may, 
in  other  connections,  call  attention  to  the  past,  but  the 
above  is  sufficient  proof  of  its  very  usual  sense  in  calling 
attention  to  things  coming  on,  and  not  yet  actually  arrived. 
Now,  it  was  in  this  sense  that  Maimonides  understood 
this  Feast  of  Tru?npcts.  It  awakened  (he  thought)  the 
people  to  repentance  in  prospect  of  the  Day  of  Expiation. 
It  has,  indeed,  been  objected  to  this  view,*  that  nrnn 
always  signifies  a  joyful  sound,  and  so  could  not  be  used 
in  prospect  of  such  a  solemn  fast.  But  the  objector 
forgets  that  that  solemn  day  was  not  merely  confession, 
but  pardon  also,  and  introduced  the  most  joyful  of  all 
feasts,  that  of  Tabernacles. 

It  was,  then,  a  feast  whose  object  was  to  rouse  all 
Israel  to  joyful  expectations,  and  summon  their  atten- 
tion.    The  silver  trumpets  ever  sounded    a   glad  note, 

*  See  Jennings,  "  Jewish  Antiq." 


414      PUBLIC  FESTIVALS,   OR  SOLEMN  CONVOCATIONS. 


they  being  in  reality  the  voice  of  God  uttered  to  Israel. 
Whensoever  these  silver  trumpets  sounded,  whether  to 
proclaim  a  solemn  sacrifice,  or  to  call  out  Israel  to  the 
battle-field  (Num.  x.  7-20),  their  utterance  was  the 
voice  of  Jehovah^  saying,  "  Come,  my  people."  Even 
as  the  trumpet  on  Sinai  indicated  Grod  speaking  ;  and  as 
Christ's  voice  in  Rev.  i.  10,  was  heard  as  if  a  trumpet 
sounded  ;  and  so  '^  the  last  trump,"  or  the  trump  at  the 
close  of  all  things,  shall  intimate  what  is  written  in  Ps. 
1.  3,   "  Oar  God  shall  come,  and  shall  not  be  silent." 

This  feast,  therefore,  is  to  be  considered  as  God's 
solemn  call  to  attention  in  prospect  of  the  very  special 
causes  for  joy  in  this  month.  In  short,  it  is  just  the 
symbolic  language  for  that  word  "  Behold,"  which  pre- 
faces many  a  New  Testament  call  in  regard  to  the  same 
truths.  "  Behold  !  the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away 
the  sins  of  the  world" — the  expiation  day  is  at  hand. 
"  Behold  !  the  Bridegroom  cometh  I"  the  day  of  joy  is  at 
hand — the  feast  of  fat  things. 

There  were  several  sacrifices  (Num.  xx.  1-10)  oflfered 
on  this  day  ;  but  we  are  not  called  on  here  to  specify 
them.  Indeed,  they  were  no  way  more  special  than 
others  of  a  similar  kind,  offered  on  other  solemnities.  It 
was  the  trumpet-sound^  heard  from  morning  to  evening, 
that  was  peculiar  to  this  feast.  On  other  occasions,  the 
trumpet  blew  once  or  twice  ;  but  on  this  day  they  blew 
all  day  long ;  and  this  is  the  special  meaning  of  Ps.  Ixxxi. 
3  ]^  not  to  every  new  moon,  but  to  the  new  moon  feast 
of  trumpets  in  this  one  month — "  our  solemn  feast  day." 

*  Ps.  Ixxxi.  8,  "  Blow  trumpets  at  new  moons."  If  it  be  asked  why  is 
not  the  monthly  festival  of  new  moons  noticed  in  this  chapter,  the  answer 
is — there  were  additional  sacrifices  offered  on  the  day  of  the  new  moon, 
but  it  was  not  set  apart  in  any  other  way.     It  was  not  a  Sabbath-day. 


^  CHAPTER  XXIII.  415 

What  a  Grod  of  love  have  we  !  He  calls  us  to  bliss. 
If  there  be  one  time  more  blessed  than  another,  then  we 
find  that  to  that  time  he  calls  our  special  attention.  He 
would  have  our  whole  soul  engaged  in  the  enjoyment 
of  those  special  prospects  presented  to  our  eye  and  heart 
in  the  coming  feasts  of  fat  things  that  follow  the  great 
day  of  atonement,  as  well  as  to  atonement  itself.  He 
calls  us  to  the  contemplation  of  both — that  we  may  find 
holiness  and  happiness  together. 

Does  not  all  this  lead  us  at  last  to  the  true  significance 
of  this  Feast  of  Trumpets  ?  It  is  the  grand  type  of  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel.  The  Gospel  is  God's  voice ; 
"see  that  ye  refuse  not  him  that  speakethP  (Heb.  xii. 
25.)  It  declares  both  the  sufferings  and  the  glory  of 
the  Saviour — both  the  day  of  atonement  and  the  feast  of 
tabernacles.  Or,  we  should  rather  say,  it  signifies  the 
cry  and  testimony  of  G-od  by  a  host  of  witnesses  age 
after  age ;  all  of  them  sounding  the  silver  trumpets  and 
saying,  "  Repent,  for  the  kindom  of  heaven  is  at  hand." 
Passover  represented  Israel's  dispensation ;  Pentecost 
represented  the  Christiaa  dispensation.  Bat  this  month's 
feasts  are  to  unite  and  blend  both.  Hence,  it  begins 
with  a  feast  that  sets  forth  God's  voice  of  love  and  warn- 
ing under  both  dispensations.  "How  often  would  I  have 
gathered  you  I"  is  equally  true  of  God  under  both  dispen- 
sations. 

The  interval  between  this  feast  and  that  of  the  atone- 
ment-day and  tabernacles  may  be  typical  of  the  short 
time  near  the  close  of  all,  when  it  would  almost  seem 
as  if  God  had  spoken  in  vain.  Jew  and  Gentile  have  in 
turn  been  tried,  and  have  in  turn  rejected  him.  When 
the  Son  of  Man  cometh,  shall  he  find  faith  on  earth  ? 
But  this   shall  soon  be  followed  by  the  breaking  of  a 


416      PUBLIC  FESTIVALS,    OR  SOLEMN  CONVOCATIONS. 

glorious  day,  when  there  shall  be  true  mourning  over 
sin,  and  then  an  universal  scene  of  holy  joy. 

THE    DAY    OF    ATONEMENT.* 

Vers.  26,  27,  28,  29,  30,  31,  32.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses, 
eaying,  Al-o  on  the  tenth  day  of  this  seventh  month  there  shall  be 
a  day  of  atonement :  it  shall  be  an  holy  convocation  mito  you  ;  and 
ye  shall  afflict  your  souls,  and  offer  an  offering  made  by  fire  unto 
the  Lord.  And  ye  shall  do  no  work  in  that  same  day ;  for  it  is  a 
day  of  atonement,  to  make  an  atonement  for  you  before  the  Lord 
your  God.  For  whatsoever  soul  it  be  that  shall  not  be  afflicted  in 
that  same  day,  he  shall  be  cut  off  from  among  his  people.  And 
whatsoever  soul  it  be  that  doeth  any  work  in  that  same  day,  the 
same  soul  will  I  destroy  from  among  his  people.  Ye  shall  do  no 
manner  of  work :  it  shall  be  a  statute  forever  throughout  your 
generations  in  all  your  dwellings.  It  shall  be  unto  you  a  sabbath  of 
rest,  and  ye  shall  afflict  your  souls  ;  in  the  ninth  day  of  the  month 
at  even,  from  even  unto  even,  shall  ye  celebrate  your  sabbath." 

This  special  day  of  humiliation  and  atonement  has  been 
fully  spoken  of  in  chap.  xvi.  In  vers  27,  it  is  "  A  day 
of  a'l'niissn  "  expiations — atonements.  It  is  remarkable 
that  the  chief  view  of  it  given  in  this  place  is  that  of  its 
being  a  time  for  "  afflicting  the  soulP  We  can  perceive 
a  propriety  in  this  view.  This  afflicting  of  the  soul 
withdrew  the  man  from  earthly  joys;  the  world  and  its 
scenes  faded  away  while  he  contemplated  his  guilt,  and 
the  wrath  of  his  Grod,  and  then  the  atonement  provided 
by  Grod.  His  afflicted  soul  is  weaned  from  earth.  In 
this  manner,  preparation  is  made  for  the  holy  joy  of  the 
feast  of  tabernacles. 

Sorrow  for  sin  seems  to  be  like  the  rough  sand  that 
a  man  uses  to  rub  off  rust  from  iron ;  sorrow  searches 

*  Called  by  way  of  eminence  j^Tai'i  among  modern  Jews.  Bengel  has 
an  idea  that  is  at  least  interesting,\iz.,  that  this  day  of  atonement  may 
have  been  the  anniversary  of  thk  Fall. 


CHAPTER  XXIII.  417 

and  rubs  sore  on  the  soul,  but  at  the  same  time  effectu ally- 
removes  what  cleaved  to  the  soul  before.  The  vessel  is 
thus  rinsed  of  the  flavor  of  former  wines,  and  left  quite 
clean  for  the  new  wine  of  the  kingdom.  Sorrow  does 
not  take  away  the  sin^  but  it  takes  away  the  taste  for 
it,  and  the  pleasant  taste  of  it ;  it  does  not  empty  out  the 
vessel,  but  frees  the  emptied  vessel  (the  pardoned  soul) 
from  the  former  relish  it  had  for  earth.  It  is  thus  that 
the  Lord's  children  pass  through  fire  and  water  to  the 
wealthy  place.  For  this  reason  it  is  that  their  souls  are 
tried  with  spiritual  griefs  and  outward  tribulation.  It 
makes  the  joy  of  the  Lord  the  fuller  and  sweeter  to  them. 
The  evening  of  the  day,  or  rather,  the  afternoon  of  it, 
bathed  their  souls  in  the  refreshment  of  pardon  and 
assured  acceptance.  And  is  not  this  also  a  preparation 
for  the  joy  of  the  kingdom  ?  It  is  by  these  beginnings 
that  the  heart  is  tuned  for  the  day  of  universal  gladness 
at  the  Lord's  appearing.  By  these  beginnings  are  their 
souls  fashioned  into  the  feelings  of  heaven. 

THE    YEAR    OF    JUBILEE 

Might  have  been  expected  to  come  in  here.  For  it 
began  on  the  evening  of  the  day  of  atonement.  The 
joy  of  jubilee  followed  up  the  ceasing  from  all  other 
joy.  But,  as  this  feast  occurred  only  once  in  every  fifty 
years,  it  is  not  taken  in  here  among  the  annual  feasts, 
but  is  delayed  to  a  separate  place.     See  chapter  xxv. 

THE    FEAST    OF    TABERNACLES. 

Vers.  33,  34,  35,  36.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Speak 
unto  the  children  of  Israel,  saying,  The  fifteenth  day  of  this  seventh 
month  shall  be  the  feast  of  tabernacles  for  seven  days  unto  the 
Lord.     On  the  first  day  shall  be  an  holy  convocatioa ;  ye  shall  do 

18*^ 


418      PUBLIC  FESTIVALS,    OR  SOLEMN  CONVOCATIONS.    • 

no  servile  work  therein.  Seven  days  ye  shall  offer  an  offering  made 
by  fire  unto  the  Lord :  on  the  eighth  day  shall  be  an  holy  convoca- 
tion unto  you,  and  ye  shall  offer  an  offering  made  by  fire  unto  the 
Lord :  it  is  a  solemn  assembly ;  and  ye  shall  do  no  servile  work 
therein." 

These  verses  do  not  fully  describe  the  feast  of  taber- 
nacles, but  only  show  its  place  among  the  other  feasts. 
It  is  peculiarly  marked  ;  for  this  notice  of  it  is  given  as 
if  to  sound  the  note  of  preparation ;  then,  verses  37,  38, 
declare  that  when  this  feast  shall  be  over,  all  the  feasts 
of  the  year  are  over.  It  is  like  the  manner  of  annun- 
ciation in  Rev.  x.  7.  "  In  the  days  of  the  seventh  angel 
....  the  mystery  of  G-od  shall  be  finished" — thus  rais- 
ing high  our  expectation  of  it,  ere  it  is  itself  formally  de- 
clared. And  hence  it  is,  probably,  that  vers.  37,  38, 
come  in  here. 

Vers.  37,  38.  "  These  are  the  feasts  of  the  Lord,  which  ye  shall  pro- 
claim to  be  holy  convocations,  to  offer  an  offering  made  by  fire  unto 
the  Lord,  a  burnt-offering,  and  a  meat-offering,  a  sacrifice,  and 
drink-offerings,  everything  upon  his  day :  beside  the  sabbaths  of  the 
Lord,  and  beside  your  gifts,  and  beside  all  your  vows,  and  beside  all 
your  free-will  offerings,  which  ye  give  unto  the  Lord." 

Is  it  not  an  instance  of  the  love  of  the  Holy  Spirit  that 
he  should  so  frame  the  language  and  manner  of  a  passage 
as  to  call  special  attention  to  what  is  most  joyful?  He 
dilates  on  scenes  that  are  peculiarly  gladsome  throughout 
all  the  prophets,  e.  g.,  Isaiah  xxxv.  and  Ix.,  Rev.  xxi. 
And  so  here ;  for  verses  37,  38,  shut  up  the  passage, 
finishing  the  enumeration  of  facts  and  giving  a  general 
review,  saying,  "  These  are  your  feasts,  and  these  in- 
clude the  offering  made  by  fire,  t^^x,  and  the  whole 
burnt-offering,  nbs?,  and  the  bread-offering,  J^ni^s,  and  any 
bloody-sacrifice,  nnt,  drink-offerings,  and  every  day's  pro- 
vision, and  Sabbaths,  with  all  the  occasional  gifts,  vows, 


CHAPTEK  XXIII.  419 

and  free-will  offerings."  Immediately  after  this  the  pen 
of  the  ready  writer  returns  to  the  feast  of  tabernacles. 
"  Surely^'^''  says  he  (using  T|i<  a  word  used  in  stating 
strong  convictions,  or  things  that  have  good  reason  in 
their  favor,  as  Ps.  Ixxiii.  1),  "  Surely  ye  shall  keep  the 
feast  of  tabernacles"  (ver.  39).  He  seems  to  hasten 
back  to  that  scene  of  joy  and  glory,  and,  now  that  all 
other  things  are  despatched,  to  dwell  leisurely  upon  this 
alone. 

Vers.  39,  40,  41,  42,  43.  "Also  (surely)  in  the  fifteenth  day  of  the 
seventh  month,  when  ye  have  gathered  in  the  fruit  of  the  land,  ye 
shall  keep  a  feast  unto  the  Lord  seven  days  :  on  the  first  day  shall 
be  a  sabbath,  and  on  the  eighth  day  shall  be  a  sabbath.  And  ye 
shall  take  you  on  the  first  day  the  boughs  of  goodly  trees,  branches 
of  palm-trees,  and  the  boughs  of  thick  trees,  and  willows  of  the 
brook ;  and  ye  shall  rejoice  before  the  Lord  your  God  seven 
days.  And  ye  shall  keep  it  a  feast  unto  the  Lord  seven  days  in  the 
year :  it  shall  be  a  statute  forever  in  your  generations ;  ye  shall 
celebrate  it  in  the  seventh  month.  Ye  shall  dwell  in  booths  seven 
days :  all  that  are  Israelites  born  shall  dwell  in  booths ;  that  your 
generations  may  know  that  I  made  the  children  of  Israel  to  dwell 
in  booths,  when  I  brought  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt :  I  am  the 
Lord  your  God." 

As  it  was  said  of  the  day  of  atonement  that  "  A  man 
had  never  seen  sorrow  who  never  saw  the  sorrow  of  that 
day  ;"^  so,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  said  of  the  feast  of 
tabernacles,  and  especially  of  its  last  day,  that  "  He  who 
never  saw  the  rejoicing  of  drawing  water,  never  saw 
rejoicing  in  all  his  life."  It  fell  at  the  time  of  vintage, 
and  when  all  kinds  of  increase  were  gathered  in.  It  was, 
however,  apt  to  be  a  rainy  month  ;  it  was  not  in  itself 
the  best  suited  for  dwelling  in  booths.  Hence,  the  Jews 
say  that  this  season  of  the  year  was  fixed  upon  as  being 

*  "  Rightly  to  feel  sin  is  the  torture  of  tortures." — Luther. 


420      PUBLIC  FESTIVALS,    OR  SOLEMN  CONVOCATIONS. 

on  this  very  account  the  better  fitted  to  show  that  they 
acted  from  regard  to  a  divine  command.*  Had  it  been 
in  spring-time,  it  might  have  been  thought  the  sugges- 
tion of  natural  feeling. 

One  object  of  it  was  to  keep  in  memory  Israel's  dwell- 
ing in  tents  in  the  desert,  while  their  G-od  dwelt  among 
them  in  the  pillar-cloud.  They  were  to  realize  these 
past  times  in  their  imagination,  and  have  a  vivid  view 
of  the  scene,  viz.,  their  God  over  the  tents  of  Israel^ 
while  as  yet  Israel  wandered  from  place  to  place  (2  Sam. 
vii.  6),  journeying  with  them.  In  this  manner  it  was  a 
most  fitting  type  of  the  yet  better  dwelling  among  men 
of  the  same  Grod,  in  the  latter  days,  when  "  his  taber- 
nacle shall  be  with  men"  (Rev.  xxi.  3),  and  the  Lamb 
shall  lead  them  to  living  fountains  of  water. 

During  the  seven  days  they  dwelt  in  booths.  They 
made  booths  out  of  the  various  trees  wherewith  their  land 
abounded  ;  they  did  not  only  carry  the  boughs  in  their 
hands,  they  also  formed  them  into  tents  or  booths.  For 
so  Nehemiah  viii.  15, 16,  states  very  plainly,  adding,  "to 
make  booths  as  it  is  written^^''  that  is,  according  to  the 
original  intention  of  the  command.  From  Nehemiah  viii. 
15,  16,  we  infer  that  "the  courts  of  the  Lord's  house" 
were  the  heart  of  the  scene. 

Imagine  the  scene  thus  presented  to  the  view.  It  is  an 
image  of  paradise  restored — the  New  Earth  in  its  luxu- 
riance during  the  reign  of  righteousness,  and  peace,  and 
joy.     "  Every  goodly  tree^^i  furnishes  its  boughs  for  the 

*  See  Patrick,  ad  loc. 

f  The  Jews  limit  this  to  the  citi-on ;  but  this  is  a  mere  tradition  of  men. 
The  words  mean  any  tree  whatsoever  that  was  attractive  and  goodly. 
Jahn  says,  "  Any  noble  tree,  such  as  the  palm  or  the  malum  Punicum." 
So  Rosenmuller. 


CHAPTER  XXIII.  421 

occasion.  The  palm — so  especially  used  in  after-days  to 
be  a  token  of  triumph,  and  a  symbol  of  Judah's  land — 
the  palm  is  first  mentioned.  Besides,  it  is  the  tree  that 
had  oftenest  sheltered  them  in  the  wilderness,'  as  at 
Elim,  being  one  of  those  that  grow  even  in  the  sandy 
deserts.  Then  ;  the  "  branches  of  thick  trees,"  or,  "  of 
bushy  thick-twisted  trees,"  such  as  the  myrtle — thus 
plucking  some  boughs  from  the  lower  thickets,  as  well  as 
from  the  lofty  palms.  In  Nehem.  viii.  15,  the  myrtle  is 
noticed  by  name.  Next;  the  '•'•  willoiv^''  from  the  river 
side,  hanging  its  boughs  over  the  brooks  of  water,  as  if 
to  shade  them  for  Israel's  sake  from  the  scorching  heat. 
There  were  also  ^' the  olive  and  the  pine''''  (Nehem.  viii. 
15),  the  former  representing  the  species  that  served  for 
Israel's  domestic  uses,  and  the  latter  those  that  supplied 
public  necessities ;  the  one  yielding  its  berries,  the  other 
its  massy  beams.  All  these,  and  any  other  such,*  were 
used  on  this  joyful  occasion.  The  booths  so  formed  ex- 
hibited the  scene  of  a  world  clad  in  rich,  luxuriant  ver- 
dure ;  men  dwelling  in  peace  and  sending  up  songs  of 
praise  amid  every  token  of  fresh  and  lively  joy.  Some 
have  fancied  that  they  can  discern  more  still,  as  they 
gaze  on  these  booths  of  every  bough :  they  think  they 
see  the  love  of  the  God  of  Jeshurun  pictured  forth  as 
being  noble  and  lofty  in  its  bearing,  like  the  pine  or 
cedar ;  fragrant  and  sweet  as  the  myrtle;  triumphant 
over  all  obstacles,  like  the  palm;  full  of  richness,  like 
the  olive ;  and  like  the  loillow  of  the  brook,  it  bends 
over  the  children  of  men,  and  over  his  own  Israel  above 
all,  in  lowly  condescension.  But,  at  all  events,  this  is 
implied  in  the  scene  taken  as  a  whole.     For  here  is 

*  "  Any  of  the  fine  trees  then  in  bloom,"  says  Rosenmiiller. 


422      PUBLIC   FESTIVALS,    OR  SOLEMN  CONVOCATIONS. 

Eden  restored,   a  fit  abode   for   Him  who   shall  dwell 
among  them. 

The  eighth  day  was  reckoned  the  great   day  of  the 
feastj  as  is  said  in  John  vii.  37.     It  was  the  day  when 
the  ingathering  of  the  vintage,   and    all  other   fruits 
(Exod.  xxiii.  16),  was  completed.     It  thus  combined  in 
it  the  "joy  of  harvest"  and  the  "shouting  of  them  that 
tread  the  wine-press,"  with  the  gladness  peculiar  to  the 
feast  itself     But  the  Jews,  not  satisfied  with  all  this, 
added  the  ceremony  of  drawing  water  from  the  pool  of 
Siloam,  to  represent  the  water  out  of  the  smitten  rock  in 
the  desert ;  and  in  pouring  out  this  pitcher  of  water  on 
the  temple,  so  great  used  to  be  the  joy,  that  it  became  a 
proverb,  "  He  who  never  saw  the  rejoicing  of  drawing 
water,  never  saw  rejoicing  in  all   his   life."     But  this 
addition  to  the  feast  betrays,  I  think,  a  sad  truth  con- 
cerning Israel.     They  rested  in  the  type  and  shadow,  and 
sought  their  full  joy  from  the  mere  feast  and  its  gladsome 
ceremonies,  instead  of  looking  through  these  rites  to  the 
future.     Hence,  they  were  disappointed  ;  they  were  not 
fully  satiated  with  joy  ;  they  felt  an  emptiness  left,  even 
after  all  the  ceremonies  of  this  day  of  joy.     Attempting, 
therefore,  to  make  the   shadow  more   substantial,  they 
invented  the  drawing  of  water,  to  see  if  thus  they  might 
get  more  to  complete  their  longing.     Poor  Israel !     This 
feast  is  but  a  type,   it  is  not  thy  heaven.     The  true 
Feast  of  Tabernacles  is  kept  when  the  Son  of  the  Blessed, 
who  dwelt  in  the  pillar  cloud,  shall  dwell  as  Immanuel 
among  us.     And  Jesus  intimated  this  when,  at  the  very 
moment  in  which  the  water  was  poured  forth,  and  Israel 
were  vainly  trying  to  expel  all  sadness  from  their  spirit, 
he  lifted  up  his  voice,  and  said,  "  If  any  man  thirst,  let 
him  come  to  me  and  drink."     (John  vii.  37.) 


CHAPTER  XXIII.  423 

•  So  natural  to  a  Jew  was  the  connection  between  joy 
and  this  feast,  that  Peter,  on  the  hill  of  transfiguration, 
no  sooner  felt  the  strange,  surpassing  joy  of  the  scene, 
than  he  seems  to  fancy,  "  This  is  the  day  of  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles."  He  fancies  himself  and  his  two  brethren 
to  be  already  dwelling  under  booths  or  tabernacle-s,  when, 
lo!  their  joy  is  increased  by  the  presence  of  three 
strangers  who  have  come  up  among  them — the  Master, 
and  Moses,  and  Elijah.  He  proposes  to  detain  these,  by 
twining  booths  for  them  also  (Mark  ix.  5),  and  so  retain 
the  exquisite  joy  which  their  presence  caused ;  for  his 
cup  was  running  over.  In  all  this  we  see,  probably,  a 
dim  hint  of  the  truth,  viz.,  that  the  coming  of  Jesus  shall 
indeed  be  the  true  time  of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  and 
his  presence  the  true  source  of  that  day's  overwhelming 
bliss.  Peter  spoke  confusedly ;  but  his  confused  words 
are  recorded,  because  in  his  very  confusion  he  was  led  to 
utter  more  than  he  really  knew  or  meant.  It  is  when 
the  Lord  shall  come  in  his  glory,  and  his  kingdom  has 
been  set  up  by  him  in  power  (Mark  viii.  38 ;  ix.  1),  that 
the  antitype  of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  shall  arrive. 
Then  is  earth  to  be  clothed  with  its  new-created  loveli- 
ness (Isa.  XXXV.  1,  2),  the  very  "  trees  of  the  wood  rejoic- 
ing before  the  Lord"  (Ps.  xcvi.  12).  Then  shall  Jesus 
give  the  thirsty  all  their  desire,  and  they  shall  sorrow  no 
more  at  all.  *'  Pie  that  sees  not  the  rejoicing  of  that  day 
shall  never  see  joy  at  all." 

And  the  many  sacrifices  offered  during  these  seven 
days  (see  Num.  xxix.  12),  all  pointing  to  the  Lamb  of 
God,  may  intimate  that  Jesus  shall  be  the  chief  object 
of  delight  in  all  that  feast.  It  shall  still  be  "  Master,  it 
is  good  to  be  here."  Outward  glory  shall  be  like  the 
case  of  a  telescope,  all  intended  to  direct  and  fix  the  eye 


424:      PUBLIC  FESTIVALS,    OR  SOLEMN  CONVOCATIONS. 


on  the  Master  himself.  "  Lo  !  this  is  our  God,  we  have 
waited  for  him."  The  decrease  of  the  sacrifices  (one  a 
day),  as  the  week  went  on  (Num.  xxix.),  may  indicate 
that  there  will  be  always  less  and  less  need  to  point  the 
redeemed  to  Jesus  as  the  sum  and  centre  of  all ;  they 
will  be  so  entirely  satisfied  of  his  being  so — so  completely 
bent  over  to  entire  oneness  of  feeling  with  him.  It  will 
become  their  only  nature — the  only  thing  natural  to 
them — to  find  Jesus  their  all  in  all.  Oh,  what  are  men 
who  are  "  without  Christ  in  the  world !" 

The  close  of  this  season  is  called,  in  ver.  36,  a  '^  solemn 
assembly."  This  is  the  eighth  day,  already  mentioned 
above  ;  but  we  notice  it  here  again.  The  word  is  pecu- 
liar, '^^'^'?.,.  "  day  of  restraint,"  or  rather,  a  day  of  closing 
and  shutting  up.  It  is  applied  to  the  close  of  the  Feast 
of  Unleavened  Bread  (Deut.  xvi.  8),  and  perhaps  ought 
always  to  be  thus  understood,  viz.,  as  denoting  a  solemn 
close.^  On  the  eighth  day,  Israel  returned  to  their 
houses,  and  rejoiced  there.  And  some  suppose  the  final 
state,  after  the  days  of  ChrisVs  kingdom^  may  be  hinted 
at  here — "  the  ages  to  come" — the  undescribed,  unknown, 
but  unutterably  blessed  eternity  after  the  Thousand 
Years. 

THE    CONCLUSION    OF    THIS    SUBJECT. 

Ver.  44,     "  And  Moses  declared  unto  the  children  of  Israel  the  feasts 
of  the  Lord." 

The  liord  thus  testifies  that  Moses  was  faithful,  to  the 
letter,  in  all  he  was  commanded  to  do ;  and  leaves  us 
with  an  example  before  our  eyes  of  true  adherence  to  the 

*  Joel  i.  14,  signifies, "  Hold  the  most  solemn  assembly  you  can,  like 
the  closing  day  in  any  of  your  feasts."  Josephus  uses  "  Ajapdo"  a  word 
formed  from  tliis,  to  denote  the  close  of  the  Feast  of  Pentecost. 


CHAPTER  XXIII.  425 

revealed  will  of  our  Grod.  If  We  would  at  length  enter 
into  these  happy  scenes,  let  us  be  as  Moses  was  in  his 
generation.  Let  us  follow  the  Lord  fully.  "  0  that 
thou  hadst  hearkened  to  my  commandments ;  then  had 
thy  peace  been  as  a  river,  and  thy  righteousness  as  the 
waves  of  the  sea." 


itttq  nf  ^min 


WHEN  OUT  OF  PUBLIC  VIEW  IN  THE  HOLY  PLACE. 


"that  thou  mayest  know  how  thou  oughtest  to  behave  thyself  in 

THE   house   of    god,   WHICH   IS   THE    CHURCH   OF    THE   LIVING    GOD." 1    Tim. 

iii.  15. 


CHAPTER  XXIV.  Vees.  1-9. 

DUTY    OF    THE    PRIESTS  IN    REGARD  TO  THE    GOLDEN  CANDLE- 
STICK. 

Vers.  1,  2,  3,  4.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Comnaand 
the  children  of  Israel  that  they  bring  unto  thee  pure  oil  olive  beaten 
for  the  light,  to  cause  the  lamps  to  burn  continually.  Without  the 
veil  of  the  testimony,  in  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  shall 
Aaron  order  it  from  the  evening  unto  the  morning,  before  the  Lord 
continually ;  it  shall  be  a  statute  forever  in  your  generations.  He 
shall  order  the  lamps  upon  the  pure  candlestick  before  the  Lord 
continually." 

Here  are  some  directions  referring  neither  to  the 
priest's  public  duty,  nor  yet  to  his  domestic,  but  to  his 
official  duties  when  withdrawn  from  the  sight  of  men  in 
the  holy  place — what  may  be  called  his  private  official 
duties. 

The  people  are  to  bring  the  oil.  Asher  must  send  up 
to  the  holy  place  the  produce  of  his  olive-trees,  and  every 


CHAPTER  XXIV.  427 

Israelite  must  learn  to  feel  an  interest  in  the  unseen 
work  of  the  sanctuary.  And  not  only  must  they  bring  it 
— they  must  bring  it  ''pure,"  clear  and  unmixed,  and 
**  beaten,"  prepared  with  care.  By  thus  prescribing  to 
the  people  the  duty  of  bringing  the  oil  for  the  lamps  to 
the  priests  well  prepared,  they  were  made  to  feel  that 
they,  as  much  as  the  priests,  had  an  interest  in  the  trans- 
actions of  the  holy  place.  It  was  equivalent  to  a  decla- 
ration that  the  seven-lamped  candlestick  burnt  there  for 
them.  And  so  it  did.  That  golden  candlestick,  with  its 
seven  lamps  at  the  end  of  the  seven  branches,  was  a 
type  of  God's  Church  standing  in  Christ  (He  is  the  shaft 
of  gold),  and  supplied  by  the  Spirit  with  light  and  life  ; 
or,  to  put  the  same  •  truth  in  a  different  form,  it  was 
Christ  holding  up  his  Church  (the  seven  branches),  while 
the  Holy  Spirit  was  the  indwelling  light  and  life  of  each. 
Each  Israelite  had,  therefore,  a  special  interest  in  these 
lamps. 

They  burned  "  continually^^  (n^x:n),  that  is,  from  day 
to  day,  like  the  "  continual  btirnt -offering^''''  or  daily 
sacrifice.*"  The  lamps  were  kindled  every  morning  at 
break  of  day,  and  burned  till  evening.  At  evening  they 
were  trimmed  again,  and  burned  on  till  the  dawn  of 
day.     Hence  we  find   in  1  Sam.  iii.  3,t  it  was   set   in 

*  It  has  been  remarked,  that  2  Sara.  ix.  7, 13,  is  an  instance  that  explains 
the  true  force  of  -|i53ln-  Mephibosheth  ate  bread  at  David's  table  ^' con- 
tinually T  Hence  some  explain  1  Thess,  v.  lY,  as  nothing  more  than 
"  Pray  at  stated  times  without  allowing  interruption."  But  that  passage 
includes  much  more,  viz.,  a  frame  of  mind  which  never  felt  indisposed  for 
prayer. 

f  In  "  The  Tabernacle  of  Moses,"  by  Rev.  W.  Mudge  (a  very  excellent 
and  refreshing  work),  this  passage  is  quoted  as  proving  the  spread  of 
corruption  in  Eli's  daj's.  But  it  is  not  so,  if  our  view  is  right ;  and  Witsius 
(De  Mysterio  Tabern.)  maintains  the  view  we  have  given. 


428      DUTIES  OF  PRIESTS  WHEN  OUT  OF  PUBLIC  VIEW. 

order  at  sunset,  that  it  might  burn  till  the  oil  was 
exhausted ;  and  when  they  found  it  gone  out  in  the 
mornings  they  set  it  in  order  again  for  the  day,  and 
it  burnt  till  evening.  It  was  allowed  to  go  out  for  want 
of  oil  and  trimming,  in  order  to  teach  our  need  of,  and 
dependence  upon,  the  Holy  Spirit  for  every  moment's 
light  and  life,  and  upon  the  priest's  care — even  the 
watchful  care  of  Jesus.  "  Order  them  from  evening 
till  morning,''^  points  to  a  yet  more  special  point.  They 
burned  during  the  night,  until  near  the  dawn,  as  a  type 
of  the  Church  giving  light,  but  getting  very  dim  as  the 
daybreak  approaches.  Perhaps  the  burning  during  day 
might  signify  the  need  of  another  light  than  the  blaze  of 
nature,  even  at  its  noon. 

The  candlestick  stood  "J9^^re"  (i.  e.,  its  golden  shaft 
and  branches  kept  ever  free  from  what  might  dim  their 
brightness),  in  the  holy  place,  on  the  outside  of  the  veil 
that  hung  between  to  divide  this  place  from  the  holiest 
of  all^  where  stood  "  the  testimony ^^^ 

Let  us  turn  aside  for  a  time  to  view  more  leisurely 
this  great  sight.  We  on  earth  are  interested  in  it ;  for  it 
stands  not  in  the  holiest  of  all,  which  is  heaven,  but  in 
the  holy  place,  which  represents  spiritual  or  heavenly 
things  enjoyed  on  earth.  True,  it  speaks  primarily  to 
Israel;  for  his  is  the  one  candlestick  with  its  seven 
branches,  giving  light  in  a  dark  world.  But  since  his 
day,  this  same  figure  or  type  has  been  used  by  Jesus — 
our  High  Priest  after  the  order  of  Melchizedec — to  repre- 

*  ITi:^!!!.  Is  this  word  specially  a  name  for  the  arJc,  whereia  the  law 
was  deposited,  and  which  so  testified  to  the  law's  demands,  and  magnified 
it,  by  the  blood  sprinkled  above  ?  Out  of  that  closed  ark,  when  so 
sprinkled,  a  voice  was  proclaiming  the  lawgiver's  holy,  holy,  holy  name 
in  accents  of  love.     And  this  is  the  testimony  needed  by  a  sinner. 


CHAPTER  XXIV.  429 

sent  his  scattered  churches  among  the  Gentiles.  (See 
Rev.  i.  20.)  What,  then,  did  Israel  see  in  the  golden 
candlestick  and  its  lamps  ? 

Did  they  not,  first  of  all,  see,  as  it  were,  the  true  vine 
spreading  out  its  many  branches  ?  They  saw  seven 
branches  proceeding  from  one  stem  or  shaft,  each  branch 
adorned  with  "  knots  and  flowers."  The  massy  shaft 
upheld  the  whole — the  seven-fold,  or  complete,  array  of 
branches.  Next ;  whether  or  not  they  knew  it,  it  is 
revealed  now,  Rev.  iv.  8,  that  the  seven  lamps  of  fire 
were  typical  of  the  seven-fold  Spirit  of  God. 

How  beautiful  the  truth  exhibited  here !  Christ  is 
the  golden  candlestick.  He  bears  up  all  the  branches  ; 
every  Church  and  every  member  would  give  way,  and 
fall  with  a  crash  to  the  dust,  if  he  were  to  withdraw  his 
upholding  strength.  Flowers,  light,  oil,  are  first  in  him, 
and  belong  to  his  Church  because  it  stands  on  him. 
Were  Christ  to  sink — had  he  sank  in  Gethsemane — then 
all  would  have  sunk  !  Enoch'^s  three  hundred  years' 
walk  with  God,  Hoses'^  forty  days'  and  nights'  com- 
munion, Abraham'' s  sacrifice  of  Isaac — all  the  graces, 
holiness,  beautiful  walk,  of  all  the  saints  in  Old  Testa- 
ment times,  would  have  availed  nothing  had  they  not 
been  on  the  golden  shaft.  To  him,  therefore,  we  ever 
sing,  "  To  him  that  is  able  to  keep  you  from  falling.''^ 
(Jude24.) 

The  olive-oil'  feeding  the  flame  of  every  lamp  is  the 
Holy  Spirit.  In  1  John  ii.  27,  "  The  anointing^''  is  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  in  Rev.  iii.  1,  Christ  is 
represented  as  giving  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  is  the  oil  to 
each  candlestick.  All  light  was  from  the  pure  oil ;  all 
grace  is  from  the  Spirit,  and  Christ  pours  in  the  Spirit 
to  his  own,  as  the  priest  poured  oil  into  the  lamps,  "  from 


430      DUTIES  OF  PRIESTS  WHEN  OUT  OF  PUBLIC  VIEW. 

morning  to  evening,  continually."  Without  oil,  the  wick 
of  the  lamp  would  be  extinguished  in  noisome  fumes, 
after  a  short  blaze ;  without  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Church 
and  every  member  of  the  Church,  would  sink  into  dark- 
ness like  that  of  the  world  around  them,  and  their  pro- 
fession would  only  leave  behind  most  offensive  remem- 
brances. Thus,  then,  is  Jesus  giving  out  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  his  Churches. 

The  priest  setting  the  lamps  in  order  daily  represents 
Christ  causing-  his  people  daily  to  receive  and  give  forth 
light  and  life.  In  the  midst  of  a  dark  world,  believers 
are  set  up  as  lights.  See  Phil.  ii.  15;  Matt.  v.  16. 
They  should  be  as  the  Baptist,  "  burning  and  shining 
lights."  They  should  be  representatives  of  Christ  him- 
self, who  "  shone  as  the  light  in  darkness."  And  they 
must  shine — 1.  Not  by  natural  gifts ^  but  by  grace. 
There  must  be  the  beaten  oil,  pressed  out  of  Israel's 
olive-trees ;  not  merely  talent,  or  natural  fervor  and  be- 
nevolence. 2.  Clearly.  There  were  golden  snuffers  for 
these  lamps,  and  the  use  of  them  was  committed  to  the 
priest  who  went  in  to  set  things  in  order.  Believers 
must  have  their  gifts  and  graces  stirred  up,  so  that  there 
be  no  dulness,  indecision,  languor.  When  you  feel  a 
little  pride  stealing  in,  or  love  of  praise,  or  fondness  for 
comforts,  or  earthly  cares,  go  then,  believer,  to  the  priest; 
let  him  dress  the  lamp.  3.  Constantly.  Every  day  in 
succession  shine  as  before  ;  never  hide  the  light.  If  there 
be  a  place  where  it  is  not  duty  to  speak,  yet  there  is  no 
place  where  it  is  not  duty  to  think  and  feel  for  Grod.  4. 
Calmly  ;  for  the  light  of  these  lamps  did  not  sputter  as 
it  burned.  The  oil  was  pure.  Believers  must  have  the 
lamb-like  spirit  of  Jesus,  putting  away  all  admixture  of 
human  temper  ;  not  reproving  with  the  heat  of  human 


CHAPTER  XXIV.  431 

passion,  nor  harshly  upbraiding  the  obstinate  sinner,  not 
impatient  or  hasty  or  fierce,  even  when  enormous  wicked- 
ness and  deceit  appear.  A  calm  light  generally  shines 
full.  5.  Li  the  face  of  the  world.  Cast  your  light  fair 
on  the  world's  sins,  that  they  may  see  them.  Point  out 
their  ungodliness,  their  lawlessness,  their  unbelief.  Re- 
prove their  acts  of  Sabbath  profanation.  Check  them 
when  they  swear  in  your  presence.  Bear  your  testimony 
where  the  truth  is  denied  in  your  presence.  Never  be 
afraid  of  dazzling  the  world  with  too  much  light ;  but 
plainly  show  them  that  they  are  wholly  sinful,  wholly 
ruined,  wholly  helpless ;  and  speak  of  a  present,  imme- 
diate, free,  full  pardon  in  the  Saviour.  6.  So  as  to  show 
the  golden  table  and  the  golden  altar.  The  light  of  the 
candlestick  did  so.  Was  not  this  pointing  the  eye  to 
Christ,  ivho  died  and  who  is  rise^i  ?  The  bread  on  the 
table  is  Christ  who  gave  his  life  for  us ;  the  golden  altar 
and  its  incense  is  Jesus  exalted  and  accepted.  Here  is 
full  salvation.  7.  As  if  you  alone  were  responsible  for 
the  enlightening  of  the  dark  ivorld.  The  candlestick 
was  the  only  light ;  so  is  the  Church.  And  let  every 
member  feel  responsibility.  Perhaps  if  you  shine  not, 
some  soul  shall  be  left  forever  in  darkness.  If  one  light- 
house on  the  sea-shore  were  obscured,  how  many  ships 
might  be  lost  in  consequence  ;  especially  if  formerly  that 
lisfhthouse  used  to  direct  to  the  haven.  Oh  I  then,  how 
many  may  perish  if  you  backslide  and  shine  not  as  be- 
fore !  This  is  our  time  for  shilling.  When  Jesus  comes, 
his  light  will  dim  ours  ;  we  shall  shine  with  him,  but  our 
privilege  of  bringing  others  shall  be  ended.  When  the 
sun  rises,  the  vessel  needs  no  more  the  help  of  the  beacon 
light. 

Lord,  give  us  the  light  that  shineth  in  the  dark  world, 


432      DUTY  OF  PEIESTS  WHEN   OUT  OF  PUBLIC   VIEW. 

and  make  us  shine  ourselves,  till  the  day  dawn  and  the 
Daystar  arise,  whose  beams  shall  gladden  and  sanctify 
our  hearts  to  the  full.* 

DUTY  OF  PRIESTS  IN  REGARD  TO  THE  GOLDEN  TABLE. 

Vers.  5,  6,  7,  8,  9.  "And  thou  shalt  take  fine  flour,  and  bake  twelve 
cakes  thereof:  two  tenth-deals  shall  be  in  one  cake.  And  thou 
shalt  set  them  in  two  rows,  six  on  a  row,  upon  the  pure  table  before 
the  Lord.  And  thou  shalt  put  pure  frankincense  upon  each  row, 
that  it  may  be  on  the  bread  for  a  memorial,  even  an  offering  made 
by  fire  unto  the  Lord.  Every  Sabbath  he  shall  set  it  in  order  be- 
fore the  Lord  continually,  being  taken  from  the  children  of  Israel 
by  an  everlasting  covenant.  And  it  shall  be  Aaron's  and  his  sons' ; 
and  they  shall  eat  it  in  the  holy  place  :  for  it  is  most  holy  unto  him 
of  the  offerings  of  the  Lord  made  by  fire  by  a  perpetual  statute." 

The  name  appropriated  to  these  loaves  was  d'?5Q<1  tjnb, 
"show-bread,"  or  the  bread  of  presence  ;'\  that  is,  bread 
fit  to  be,  or  honored  to  be,  set  in  the  presence  of  the  King 
of  Jeshurun.  1.  It  was  set  before  Grod  in  the  holy  place, 
just  as  the  incense  on  the  golden  altar  was  offered  to 

*  In  2  Pet.  i.  19,  there  may  be  a  reference  to  the  candlestick  that  shone 
in  the  holy  place.  As  it  continued  to  be  used  until  the  Lord  Jesus  came, 
and  a  Church  of  living  souls  had  received  his  healing  beams  into  their 
hearts,  so  shall  his  word  of  prophecy  continue  to  light  the  steps  of  his 
Church  until  their  Lord  come  again  and  substitute  himself  for  the  word. 
The  force  of  "  In  your  hearts"  may  be  this :  "  Until  those  hearts  of  yours, 
which  at  present  receive  the  word  that  tells  of  Him,  shall  be  shone  upon 
by  Himself." 

f  The  article  H  in  this  connection  defines  the  bread,  according  to  that 
rule  of  Hebrew  grammar  which  says,  "  that  when  a  compound  idea,  repre- 
sented by  one  noun  following  another  in  the  genitive,  is  to  be  expressed 
definitely,  it  is  done  by  prefixing  the  article  to  the  noun  in  the  genitive." 
It  is  not  "  bread  of  the  presence,"  but  "  the  presence-bread.  So  Isa.  IxiiL 
9,  is  simply,  "  'B\s presence-angel"  No  doubt  '^presence-bread,'^  and  ^'preS' 
ence-angel,"  were  similar  to  Esther  i.  14;  2  Kings  xxv.  19,  who  would  be 
called  by  the  name  "presence-men,"  q.  d.,  fit  to  stand,  and  honored  to  be,  in 
presence  of  the  king. 


CHAPTER  XXIV.  433 

God.  It  was  thus  a  type  of  Jesus,  on  whom  the  Father's 
delight  was  placed  with  infinite  complacency,  so  that  he 
might  be  said  to  be  the  food  of  heaven,  He  on  whom  God 
feasted  with  delight.  And  thus  was  represented  the 
truth,  "  God  gave  his  only-begotten  Son."  It  has  been 
beautifully  said,  ''  Every  sigh  of  Jesus  was  a  crumb  of 
imperishable  bread  to  us."  (Mudge.)  2.  These  loaves 
stood  on  a  pure,  golden  table,  or  a  table  made  of  Shittim- 
wood,  overlaid  with  gold.  Now,  these  materials  were 
the  very  materials  of  the  ark,  expressing  Chrisfs  person, 
viz.,  his  humanity  that  never  saw  corruption  (Shittim- 
wood),  and  his  glorious  Divinity  (gold  shining  like  New 
Jerusalem  streets).  Is  not  this  to  teach  that  the  food  of 
our  souls  is  the  Son  of  Man  from  heaven ;  his  person 
presenting  his  finished  work  to  us  in  its  ready,  complete 
adaptation  to  our  souls  ?  3.  The  twelve  loaves  exhibit 
this  truth,  that  for  each  name  on  his  breastplate  the  high 
priest  has  a  full  supply.  And  hence  not  one  of  these 
shall  perish.  At  the  same  time,  the  supply  for  each  was 
superabundant ;  it  was  two  tenth-deals,  two  omers. 
Now,  that  was  double  the  quantity  for  one  individual's 
wants.  When  manna  fell,  two  omers  was  provision  for 
two  persons.  As  if  to  teach  that  there  is  a  sufliciency 
in  Jesus  so  great,  that  far  more  than  ever  come  could  be 
supplied  out  of  his  abundance.  Yes,  sinner,  you  may 
not  know  that  your  name  is  on  his  breastplate ;  but  this 
you  do  know,  that  there  is  plenty  on  his  table  to  satisfy 
you,  and  a  welcome  withal  to  you  when  you  go  to  take 
it.  You  will  cease  to  crave  sooner  far  than  He  will  cease 
to  give.  The  blame  of  your  perishing  will  never  lie  on 
the  insufficiency  of  the  provision.  And,  inasmuch  as  all 
this  was  managed  by  a  priest — inasmuch  as  it  was  the 
priest's  duty  to  see  that  these  loaves  were  ever  there  in 

19 


434     DUTY  OF  PEIESTS  WHEN  OUT  OF  PUBLIC  VIEW. 

their  place — inasmuch  as  no  hand  but  a  priest's  must 
touch  that  bread,  does  it  not  seem  to  say,  that  this  pro- 
vision is  all  for  sinners  ;  not  for  the  holy  and  righteous, 
but  for  perishing  sinners  ?  4.  It  was  renewed  weekly. 
Thus  it  never  moulded.  It  was  fresh  at  all  times.  For 
so  is  the  Antitype,  ever  fresh  to  us,  as  truly  as  in  apos- 
tolic days.  He  never  waxes  old ;  this  food  never  moulds. 
You  may  get  the  same  joy  in  believing  on  him,  the  same 
peace,  the  same  assurance  that  were  found  in  apostolic 
days ;  and  may  be  moved  with  the  same  love  and  zeal 
and  holiness,  by  feeding  on  the  same  primitive  food.  5. 
And  yet  more  :  it  will  be  on  the  morning  of  the  Sabbath^ 
the  seventh  thousand  year  of  earth,  that  He  shall  be  set 
gloriously  before  his  people  in  fresh  fulness. 

They  were  set  in  two  rows  (ver.  6)  on  the  table.  This 
was  the  most  convenient  position ;  and  the  priest  stand- 
ing before  them  would  thus  appear  one  who  had  full 
occupation  for  both  his  hands,  a  busy,  ever-busy  priest, 
opening  his  hand  liberally  to  supply  the  hungry  through 
all  the  tribes  of  Israel.^  Besides  all  this.  Dr.  Owen's 
idea  seems  true,  that  in  reference  to  the  curse  of  the 
ground,  Israel  was  taught  how  their  food  would  be 
blessed.^ 

The  frankincense  (ver.  7)  on  the  top  of  each  row  was 
similar  in  use  to  chap.  ii.  15,  16.     It  denoted  acceptance, 

*  In  2  Chron.  iv.  19,  Solomon  is  said  to  have  made  "the  golden  altar; 
the  tables,  also  (niinbtin),  whereon  the  show-bread  was."  There  were 
ten  tables,  and  the  Hebrew  words  are  literally  rendered,  "  And  on  them 
(viz.,  these  tables)  the  show-bread," — probably  ten  tables,  each  with  twelve 
loaves.  This  vast  increase  of  material  in  Solomon's  temple  is  remarkable 
throughout;  four  cherubim,  ten  la  vers,  ten  candlesticks,  all  pointing  to 
the  amazing  enlargement  of  vision  and  of  fruition  in  the  days  of  the  Prince 
of  Peace, 

f  On  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 


CHAPTER  XXIV.  435 

and  that  this  bread  was  well-pleasing  to  the  Lord ;  and 
when  burned  at  the  week's  end,  instead  of  the  loaves,  it 
was  in  order  that  Aaron's  sons  might  feast  on  the  loaves 
themselves.  And  this  feeding  on  the  loaves  (ver.  9) 
while  the  frankincense  ascended  in  sweet  fragrance, 
seems  to  shadow  forth  Christ  interceding  for  us  at  the 
very  moment  we  are  enjoying  fellowship  with  him. 
Eaten  in  the  courts  of  the  sanctuary  ("  the  holy  place," 
as  chap.  vi.  16)  by  those  who  had  a  right  of  constant 
access,  exhibited  God's  children  enjoying  fellowship  and 
access  to  their  Grod,  keeping  their  eye  all  the  time  on  the 
memorial  presented  in  their  behalf. 

These  loaves  were  to  be  "taken  from  the  children  of 
IsraeV  (ver.  8).  The  people  were  to  supply  them,  just  as 
ver.  2  commanded  regarding  the  olive-oil  for  the  lamps. 
Israel  must  feel  that  all  this  is  done  for  their  sakes. 

And  last  of  all,  "  the  everlasting  covenant,"  ver.  8,  and 
*'  perpetual  statute,"  ver.  9,  throw  a  fence  around  to  pre- 
vent neglect.  As  regularly  as  the  Sabbath  came  on,  the 
prepared  loaves  must  be  on  the  table.  We  must  not  put 
other  food  before  the  Lord's  people.  Ministers  dare  not 
change  it.  What  mean  those  who  set  before  Grod's 
people  a  supply  of  eloquence,  intellect,  argument,  or  of 
history,  or  of  speculation  on  the  truth  ?  Even  if  the 
table  have  on  it  a  pile  of  duties,  row  upon  row  of  graces 
and  virtues,  yet  if  Christ  the  life,  and  the  food  of  life,  be 
not  there,  the  "  everlasting  covenant"  is  broken,  the 
"  perpetual  statute"  annulled. 

AN  EVENT  THAT  SOLEMNLY  CONFIRMED  THE  AUTHORITY  OF 
THE  LAWS,  BOTH  TO  ISRAELITES  AND  TO  STRANGERS  AMONG 
THEM,   10-16. 

Vers.  10,  11,  12,  13,  14,  15,  16.     "And  the  son  of  an  Israelitish  woman 


436      DUTY  OF   PRIESTS  WHEN  OUT  OF  PUBLIC  VIEW. 

■whose  father  was  an  Egyptian,  went  out  among  the  children  of 
Israel :  and  this  son  of  the  Israelitish  woman  and  a  man  of  Israel 
strove  together  in  the  camp ;  and  the  Israelitish  woman's  son 
blasphemed*  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  cursed.  And  they  brouglit 
him  unto  Moses;  (and  his  mother's  name  was  Shelomith,  the 
daughter  of  Dibri,  of  the  tribe  of  Dan  :)  and  they  put  him  in  ward, 
that  the  mind  of  the  Lord  might  be  showed  them.  And  the  Lord 
spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Bring  forth  him  that  hath  cursed  without 
the  camp ;  and  let  all  that  heard  him  lay  their  hands  upon  his  head, 
and  let  all  the  congregation  stone  him.  And  thou  shalt  speak  unto 
the  children  of  Israel,  saying,  Whosoever  curseth  his  God  shall  bear 
his  sin.  And  he  that  blasphemeth  the  name  of  the  Lord,  he  shall 
surely  be  put  to  death,  and  all  the  congregation  shall  certainly  stone 
him :  as  well  the  stranger,  as  he  that  is  born  in  the  land,  when  he 
blasphemeth  the  name  of  the  Lord,  shall  be  put  to  death." 

In  ver.  10,  we  should  probably  understand  the  words 
thus  :  "  son  of  an  Egyptian  who  was  among  the  children 
of  Israel,"  that  is,  who  was  a  proselyte  in  the  midst  of 
Israel. 

In  ver.  11,  ^^the  name''^  stands  alonet  without  the 
words  "  of  Jehovah,"  though  in  ver.  16  this  addition  is 
inserted.  The  expression,  "  The  Name'^  beyond  all  doubt 
means  Jehovah ;  and  there  may  be  a  reference  to  this 
very  passage  in  the  New  Testament  passages,  where  we 
find  the  Lord  Jesus  mentioned  thus,  in  order  to  show  his 
high  exaltation :  "  He  hath  given  him  a  name  that  is 
above  every  name,"  ^^o^a  xo  ineq  nav  ovo^ia,  (Phil.  ii.  9.) 
If  the  Jews  in  Paul's  day  were  in  the  habit  (as  they  are 
now)  of  not  uttering  the  word  "  Jehovali^^^  but  of  substi- 
tuting instead  "  Adonai,"  or  the  phrase  used  here,  ^'  the 
name,"  this  clause  would  then  have  double  significance 
to  a  Jew.     The  argument  in  Heb.  i.  may  have  a  tacit 

*  Or,  more  correctly,  "  he  uttered  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  then  cursed 
him."     (Hengstenberg  on  Pentateuch,  Dissert,  iii.) 

\  The  Septuagint  here  have  ro  dj/ojua  KaTn^atyaro;  and  ver.  16,  "  dvoixa^M 
TO  ivo^ia  Kti'pjoD." 


CHAPTER  XXIV.  437 

reference  to  the  event  before  us.  At  all  events,  the 
passage  before  us  is  itself  a  remarkable  instance  of  deep 
reverence  for  the  Lord's  name  ;  for  what  else  can  account 
for  the  peculiar  phrase  "  the  name'^  except  that  the  Holy- 
Spirit  here  taught  Moses  to  utter  sparingly  at  such  a 
time  a  name  which  men  could  learn  to  pronounce  so 
rashly.  Hence,  "  Jekovalt'''  is  omitted  twice,  and  "  the 
name'''*  stands  alone.  The  solemn  manner  in  which 
Exod.  iii.  14,  15,  records  this  title,  gave  origin  to  this 
special  reverence,  and  suggested  the  expression,  "  The 
NameP^ 

It  seems  as  if  this  occurrence  had  taken  place  while 
Moses  was  within  the  tabernacle  conversing  with  G^od. 
It  is  as  if  the  people  had  come  to  the  door  of  the  taber 
nacle  in  quest  of  him,  that  he  might  hear  the  sad  event, 
and  go  in  and  ask  counsel  of  Grod  with  whom  he  was 
conversing.  The  introduction  of  it  into  this  record  of 
ceremonial  rites  is  not  without  a  meaning.  It  was  an 
event  fitted  by  its  results  to  confirm  the  authority  of 
Jehovah  over  Israel.  Providence  was  seen  co-operating 
with  revelation  for  this  end.  Occasion  was  taken  from 
this  occurrence  to  exhibit  some  precepts  that  drew  an 
outward  fence  round  the  pavilion  of  the  Grreat  King. 

And  the  grace  of  Grod  shone  forth  amid  this  dark 
cloud.  For  lo  !  he  is  dealing  with  a  camp  wherein  such 
corruption  springs  up,  and  yet  he  goes  on  still  with  his 
revelations  of  love.     That  straw  on  the  surface  showed 

*  In  Exod.  iii.  15,  "  memoriaV  differs  from  the  "  name  f'  for  '•'  memorial" 
always  contains  a  reference  to  the  acta  of  God,  e,  g.  his  being  the  God  who 
kept  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  Whereas  ^'  I  am"  refers  to  past,  present 
and  future  nature.  So  Hengstenberg,  on  Psalm  xxx.  4,  thinks  that  "  m*?- 
morial"  is  his  historically  manifested  properties,  his  character  exhibited  in 
acts. 


438      DUTY   OF  PRIESTS  WHEN  OUT  OF  PUBLIC  VIEW. 

how  the  current  ran.  But  the  Lord  was  acting  in  pure 
grace  amid  a  camp  of  sin. 

The  fact  of  the  lad  being  the  son  of  a  Jewish  mother 
and  of  an  Egyptian  father  afforded  occasion  to  show  that 
the  law  applied  equally  and  impartially  to  the  Jew  and 
to  the  stranger.  And  his  being  the  son  of  a  well-known 
woman,  Shelomith  (whose  name  might  have  suggested 
veace fulness  to  her  son),  daughter  of  Dibri,  made  the 
judgment  passed  on  him  appear  the  more  impartial. 

Moses  went  to  the  Lord,  while  the  blasphemer  lay  in 
ward.  The  sentence  is  calm  and  deliberate.  The  Lord 
commands  that  he  be  stoned.  Every  witness  lays  his 
hands  on  the  blasphemer's  head,  as  if  to  say,  "  Thy 
blood  be  on  thyself ;"  and  he  is  hurried  beyond  the  camp, 
that  is,  beyond  the  place  of  blessing  to  the  scene  of  curse 
— to  where  the  sin-offering  used  to  be  burnt,  probably. 
There  he  dies  an  awful  death ;  and  by  his  death  leaves 
these  warnings  (ver.  15,  16)  for  all  Israel.  Even  thus 
the  sinner  who  despises  "  tlie  name  that  is  above  every 
name"  shall  perish.  The  swearer,  the  blasphemer,  the 
rash  and  irreverent,  the  quarrelsome  and  passionate,  they 
who  sin  grievously  under  the  provocation  of  injury,  or 
under  the  ignorance  and  stupefaction  of  strong  drink, 
belong  to  the  class  before  us.  So  also  do  all  those  who 
despise  and  lightly  esteem  "  that  name"  of  Jesus.  And, 
lo !  every  hand  is  put  on  their  head,  pointing  to  the  fact 
that  they  themselves  are  to  blame  for  their  ruin  !  Even 
thus  the  unbelieving  man  perishes  under  the  awful 
certainty  that  he  is  most  justly  doomed.  Amid  the  crash 
of  the  shower  of  stones,  the  blasphemer's  conscience 
louder  far  proclaimed  to  him  that  he  deserved  this  doom  ; 
and,  amid  the  flashing  flames  of  the  day  of  God,  and  the 
weeping  and  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth,  the  unbeliev- 


CHAPTER  XXIV.  439 

ing  man  who  rejected  "the  only  name  given  under 
heaven  whereby  we  must  be  saved"  (Acts  iv.  12),  shall 
hear  the  thunder  of  his  own  accusing  conscience,  "  The 
Lord  is  righteous,  and  I  am  self-destroyed." 

Vers.  17,  18,  19,  20,  21,  22.  "And  he  that  killeth  any  man  shall 
surely  be  put  to  death.  And  he  that  killeth  a  beast  shall  make  it 
good :  beast  for  beast.  And  if  a  man  cause  a  blemish  in  his 
neighbor  ;  as  he  hath  done,  so  shall  it  be  done  to  him ;  breach  for 
breach,  eye  for  eye,  tooth  for  tooth :  as  he  hath  caused  a  blemish 
in  a  man,  so  shall  it  be  done  to  him  again.  And  he  that  killeth  a 
beast,  he  shall  restore  it :  and  he  that  killeth  a  man,  he  shall  be 
put  to  death.  Ye  shall  have  one  manner  of  law,  as  well  for  the 
stranger,  as  for  one  of  your  own  country :  for  I  am  the  Lord  your 
God." 

The  quarrel  of  Shelomith's  son  is  still  in  view ;  and 
even  it  gives  occasion  to  a  statement  of  the  Lord's  mind. 
The  first  table  requires  reverence  to  the  Lord  ;  this  has 
been  enjoined.  The  second  table  requires  kindness  to 
our  fellow-men  ;  this  is  enjoined  in  ver.  17-21.  Murder, 
however  men  may  allege  the  excuse  of  passion  or  of 
drunkenness,  or  the  like,  shall  be  punished  by  death ; 
and  lesser  injuries  by  corresponding  penalties.  In  the 
case  of  a  beast  (ver.  21),  the  crime  is  not  to  be  so  judged, 
though  in  that  case  too,  the  man  must  make  restitution  ; 
but  so  precious  in  God's  sight  is  the  life  of  man,  that 
death  must  ever  be  the  penalty  of  murder.  Stranger  or 
fellow-countryman,  the  rule  must  apply  alike  to  both. 

We  see,  1.  The  Lord's  Righteousness.  His  rule  of 
equity  and  recompense  is  exhibited  in  judging  the  affairs 
of  men.  Men  are  taught  his  stern  justice.  2.  The 
Lord''s  grace  to  men.  He  draws  a  fence  round  their 
lives,  for  their  souls'  sake.  As  he  was  jealous  for  his 
own  name,  so  is  he  for  their  safety.  "  Who  is  a  God  like 
unto  thee  ?" 


440      DUTY  OF  PRIESTS  WHEN   OUT  OF   PUBLIC  VIEW. 

Moses  is  now  appointed  to  decide  such  quarrels  by  fixed 
rules.  How  differently  would  he  feel  at  this  time  from 
what  he  did  when  too  hastily  he  put  himself  forward  in 
the  quarrel  between  the  Israelite  and  the  Egyptian,  and 
next  day  between  the  two  men  of  Israel.  Then  he  would 
have  recompensed  "breach  for  breach,  tooth  for  tooth;" 
but  to  do  so  at  that  time  was  sinful  in  him.  For  he  was 
not  invested  with  authority  ;  he  was  only  giving  vent  to 
the  natural  feelings  of  righteous  indignation  at  the  sight 
of  injustice  perpetrated.  Now,  however,  he  acts  as 
magistrate  and  "king  in  Jeshurun ;"  and  when  he  en- 
joins "  tooth  for  toothy  eye  for  e^/e,"  it  is  not  done  as  the 
scribes  enjoined  (Matt.  v.  38)  ;  it  is  not  done  by  way  of 
private  revenge,  but  as  representative  of  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel. 

Ver.  23.  "  And  Moses  spake  to  the  children  of  Israel,  that  they  should 
bring  forth  him  that  had  cursed  out  of  the  camp,  and  stone  him  with 
stones.  And  the  children  of  Israel  did  as  the  Lord  commanded 
Moses." 

Moses  came  back  from  meeting  with  the  Lord.  He 
told  the  people  that  the  Lord  commanded  the  guilty  man 
to  be  led  forth  out  of  the  camp — away  from  the  place 
where  blessing  fell  like  dew,  and  over  v^hich  the  pillar 
hovered,  and  where  Jehovah  dwelt,  to  a  spot  beyond  the 
circle  of  the  blessing,  and  there  be  stoned.  Behold  the 
wretched  blasphemer  led  forth  I  His  head  covered,  after 
he  has  cast  his  last  look  on  the  happy  tents  of  Israel  and 
his  weeping,  widowed  mother  ;  his  hands  bound,  his  lips 
quivering,  his  steps  slow  and  heavy !  A  silent  group 
attend  him,  and  multitudes  gaze  afar  off.  The  sentence 
and  the  principles  of  it  have  been  just  uttered  by  Moses 
in   the  name  of  God;  and,  with  the  conviction  of  his 


CHAPTER  XXIV.  441 

own  desert  plain  even  to  himself,  the  man  is  struck  to 
the  earth  and  crushed  to  death.  "  Without  the  camp" 
he  lies,  a  spectacle  to  angels  and  to  men. 

Now,  of  what  does  that  mangled  and  marred  form 
emphatically  speak  to  one  that  passes  by  ?  It  speaks  of 
the  curse  of  an  injured  G-od.  Each  wound,  left  by  the 
ponderous  mass  that  some  witness  cast  upon  his  shiver- 
ing body,  was  an  external  representation  of  the  infinite 
curse  that  cleaves  to  the  condemned  soul.  And  hence 
it  is  that  when  we  see  Jesus,  "  wounded  and  bruised," 
''  his  visage  so  marred  more  than  any  man,  and  his  form 
than  the  sons  of  men,"  we  therein  see  the  marks  of  the 
curse  having  really  fallen  on  him — the  curse  which  our 
sins  wreathed  around  him.  The  Father  lays  his  hand 
on  his  holy  head,  as  if  pointing  him  out  as  guilty — but 
only  guilty  in  our  guilt — and  every  overwhelming  curse 
is  showered  upon  his  head.  "  Surely  he  hath  borne  our 
griefs  and  carried  our  sorrows."  Never  man  spake  like 
that  man,  and  yet  he  seems  visited  with  the  same  marks 
of  tremendous  wrath  as  this  son  of  Shelomith. 

The  wrath  is  equally  real  in  both  cases,  while  the 
reason  is  very  different,  in  either  case.  The  mangled 
body  of  Shelomith's  son  declared  that  the  wrath  due  to 
him  was  poured  out,  and  in  exhausting  its  terrors  had 
swept  life  away.  Even  so,  the  dead  body  of  our  Surety, 
all  bruised  and  torn,  declared  to  Joseph  and  Nicodemus 
as  they  wrapt  it  in  the  fine  linen  and  spices,  that  the 
curse  had  fallen  and  had  spent  its  fury  on  him.  Oh,  how 
they  could  have  sung  as  they  bore  his  body,  his  pale  body, 
to  the  new  hewn  tomb  without  the  gate,  "  Christ  has 
redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made 
a  curse  for  us !" 

19* 


€^t  hMlt  fm,  ml  tjje  fm  nf  Suhiltt. 


MILLENNIAL   TIMES. 


"  THEEE   REMAINETH,  THEREFORE,  A   REST   TO   THE   PEOPLE   OF   GOD." Heb. 

iv.  9. 

"  THE  YEAR  OF  MY  REDEEMED  IS  COME." Isaiah  Ixill.  4. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Vers.  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  Y.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  in  Mount 
Sinai,*  saying,  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  and  say  unto 
them,  "When  ye  come  into  the  land  which  I  give  you,  then  shall  the 
land  keep  a  sabbath  unto  the  Lord.  Six  years  thou  shalt  sow  thy 
field,  and  six  years  thou  shalt  prune  thy  vineyard,  and  gather  in  the 
fruit  thereof;  but  in  the  seventh  year  shall  be  a  sabbath  of  rest 
unto  the  land,  a  sabbath  for  the  Lord ;  thou  shalt  neither  sow  thy 
field,  nor  prune  thy  vineyard.  That  which  groweth  of  its  own 
accord  of  the  harvest  thou  shalt  not  reap,  neither  gather  the  grapes 
of  thy  vine  undressed :  for  it  is  a  year  of  rest  unto  the  land.  And 
the  sabbath  of  the  land  shall  be  meat  for  you ;  for  thee,  and  for  thy 
servant,  and  for  thy  maid,  and  for  thy  hired  servant,  and  for  thy 
stranger  that  sojourneth  with  thee,  and  for  thy  cattle,  and  for  the 
beast  that  are  in  thy  land,  shall  all  the  increase  thereof  be  meat." 

As  soon  as  they  should  be  settled  in  the  Promised 

*  "  In,"  that  is,  while  still  at  the  same  region  as  when  the  preceding  pre- 
cepts were  given ;  for  Israel  was  a  year  there.  Numbers  x.  11,  12,  says 
they  did  not  remove  till  the  second  month  of  the  second  year  after  leaving 
Egypt. 


CHAPTER  XXV.  443 

Land,  this  ordinance  must  be  kept.  As  each  Sabbath- 
day  was  a  type  of  the  coming  rest  to  creation  after  its 
6,000  years  of  woe,  and  as  each  yeafs  seventh  month 
brought  round  a  type  of  the  same  in  the  feast  of  taber- 
nacles, so  each  seventh  year  also.  There  is  a  yearning 
in  the  heart  of  Grod  towards  this  happy  time.  Jesus 
himself  is  he  who  says  in  the  Song,  "  Till  the  day  break 
and  the  shadows  flee  away,  I  will  get  me  to  the  moun- 
tain of  myrrh  and  the  hill  of  frankincense"  (Song  iv.  6)  ; 
and  these  repeated  types,  at  every  new  period  of  time, 
days,  months,  and  years,  intimate  the  same  desire.  Oh ! 
how  should  we  long  for  that  day  of  God — for  what  Paul 
calls  in  2  Thess.  i.  7,  "  rest  with  us,  when  the  Lord 
Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven." 

They  were  to  keep  it  "  ^o  the  Lord,^^  even  as  the  Sab- 
bath-day. He  delighted  to  see  in  that  year  a  type  of 
creation's  rest ;  and  they  were  to  spend  that  year  of  com- 
parative leisure  in  serving  him  more  entirely. 

When  it  is  said,  "  Six  years  thou  shalt  sow,"  there  is 
a  precept  as  well  as  permission  given.  Till  the  seventh 
year  comes  we  must  work  and  toil ;  the  sweat  must  hang 
on  our  brow,  the  testimony  and  effect  of  the  Fall.  But 
the  seventh  year  wipes  that  away.  "  There  shall  be  no 
more  curse"  was  thus  suggested  to  every  keeper  of  the 
Sabbatic  year.  No  work  on  that  year  (ver.  4),  no  reap- 
ing- even  of  what  grew  of  itself;  they  might  pluck  the 
few  grapes  that  grew  on  "the  undressed  vine"*  (ver.  5), 

*  ^it3  the  vine  in  the  undressed  state  of  a  Nazarite  whose  locks  gre^w 
unrestrained.  As  Propertius  ii.  15,  speaks  of  the  coma  of  the  vine  (Rosen- 
muller).  Or,  it  may  be  from  *i>f5  directly,  q.d,  the  vine  in  the  state  of 
consecration  to  God,  which  implied  that  no  human  hand  pruned  it.  Patrick 
remarks  that  olive-yards,  &c.,  were  all  included  under  these  rules ;  Exod. 
xxiii.  10. 


444     THE   SABBATIC  YEAR,   AND  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE. 


and  the  handfuls  found  springing  up  in  the  corn-fields  of 
themselves ;  but  this  they  might  do  just  as  need  required. 
There  was  to  be  none  of  the  toils  of  harvest  or  of  vint- 
age ;  "  the  Sabbath  of  the  land^^''  that  is,  (chap,  xxiii. 
38,)  what  the  Sabbath  of  the  land  furnishes  and  presents^ 
shall  be  sufficient. 

It  was  during  this  year  also  that  every  Israelite  re- 
mitted debts  due  to  him  by  his  brother  Israelite ;  and 
every  Hebrew  slave  might  leave  his  servitude  (Exod. 
XX i. 5  &c.),  at  least,  if  this  to  him  were  the  seventh  year 
of  his  bondage.  There  must  be  a  full  picture  of  rest. 
For  this  is  the  type  of  what  the  earth  shall  be  under 
Christ,  the  Prince  of  Peace.  Of  Him  it  is  said,  "  His 
rest  shall  be  glorious"  (Isa.  xi.  10) ;  and  of  that  final 
rest  it  is  written,  "  There  remaineth  a  rest  for  the  people 
of  God" — (aa^^aTiafjog^  Heb.  iv.  9),  a  time  combining  in 
itself  all  that  was  prefigured  by  the  seventh  dai/,  and  in 
the  seventh  month,  and  during  the  seventh  year.  Walk 
through  Israel's  land  at  such  a  time,  and,  lo !  every  one 
sits  under  his  vine  and  under  his  fig-tree  in  peace.  No 
sound  of  the  oxen  treading  out  the  corn,  no  shouting 
from  the  vineyard  ;  a  strange  stillness  over  all  the  land, 
while  its  summer-days  are  as  bright  as  ever,  and  its 
people  as  happy  as  a  nation  on  earth  could  be  fouad. 
Amid  this  rest — which  in  a  nation  of  agriculturists  would 
be  nearly  equivalent  to  universal  cessation  from  toil — 
how  continually  do  the  godly  sing  the  praises  of  Jehovah  ! 
The  whole  year  round,  they  use  their  leisure  for  Grod. 
"  His  servants  serve  him."  They  rest  not  from  this  ; 
and  so  they  make  this  outward  rest  more  truly  a  type  of 
the  heavenly.  No  sweat  upon  their  brow  (as  if  antici- 
pating those  days  in  Ezek.  xliv.  48)  from  tilling  the 
ground ;  and  yet  what  with  last  year's  plentiful   and 


CHAPTER    XXV.  445 

superabundant  supply  (ver.  20),  and  wliat  with  the 
supplement  yielded  by  this  year's  self-produce,  each  man 
has  sufficiency.  "  So  giveth  he  his  beloved  sleep" — and 
they  rest  in  his  love.  And  the  beasts  of  the  field  rest ; 
^'creation  itself"  seems  to  share  in  this  liberty  of  the 
sons  of  Grod,  anticipating  its  season  of  deliverance  from 
corruption.  (Rom.  viii.  21.)  The  very  soil  on  v^^hich 
their  harvest  grew  was  improved  by  this  rest,  as  if  to 
shadow  forth  the  time  when  it  should  no  more  yield  less 
than  it  did  in  Paradise.  And,  besides  all  this,  no  man 
appropriated  to  himself  anything  that  the  land  then  pro- 
duced ;  all  was  common,  to  the  rich,  to  the  poor,  to  the 
Hebrew,  to  the  stranger, — a  token  of  the  restoration  of 
mutual  love.  Rest  on  the  ground,  among  the  beasts  of 
the  field,  in  the  dwellings  of  men  with  praise  and  wor- 
ship unceasingly  ascending  from  harp  and  psaltery  and 
gracious  lips,  while  every  man  partook  of  earth's  pro- 
duce as  freely  as  his  neighbor  in  token  of  established 
good-will,  was  not  all  this  a  scene  of  true,  real  peace  ? 
Might  not  Israel  say,  ''  Let  the  heavens  rejoice,  and  let 
the  earth  be  glad,  let  the  sea  roar  and  the  fulness  thereof; 
let  the  field  be  joyful  and  all  that  is  therein ;  then  shall 
all  the  trees  of  the  wood  rejoice  before  the  Lord."  (Ps. 
xcvi.  11,  12.) 

So  much  did  God  love  these  blessed  shadows  of  the 
rest  to  come,  that  Israel's  neglect  of  them  is  reckoned 
one  of  the  causes  of  their  being  carried  away  to  Babylon. 
Shall  not,  then,  the  neglect  of  any  among  us  to  realize 
that  "  rest  that  remaineth,"  be  also  displeasing  to  the 
Lord  ?  It  is  true,  their  neglect  arose  rather  from  present 
eagerness  about  the  world,  than  from  dislike  of  the  sea- 
son of  rest ;  but,  from  whatever  cause,  the  duty  was  left 
undone.     And  yet,  after  all,  a  true  longing  for  the  rest 


446      THE  SABBATIC  YEAR,   AND  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE. 

would  have  helped  much  to  free  them  from  worldly 
attractions,  and  their  contentedness  with  present  scenes 
showed  at  least  that  they  were  not  over  fond  of  the 
future.  Is  it  not  so  still  ?  There  is  httle  of  the  pilgrim- 
spirit  in  those  who  never  long  for  ''  the  rest  that  remain- 
eth."  There  is  too  little  weariness  of  sin — little  of 
Brainerd's  cry,  "  O  that  my  soul  were  holy  as  He  is 
holy  I  O  that  it  luere  pure  as  Christ  is  pure,  and  per- 
fect as  my  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect  !  These  are  the 
siueetest  commands  in  God's  book,  comprising  all  others. 
And  shall  I  break  them  ?  Must  I  break  them  ?  Am  I 
under  a  necessity  of  it  as  long  as  I  live  in  the  ivorld  ? 
O  my  soul  I  woe,  woe  is  me  that  I  am  a  sinner.^''  There 
is  much  groaning  under  human  misery,  but  there  is 
little  groaning  under  a  sense  of  deep  dishonor  done  to 
God.  There  is,  too,  now  and  then,  a  longing  to  be  at 
rest  ourselves ;  but  rarely  do  you  find  souls  who  are 
groaning  in  sympathy  with  all  creation.  A  Jeremiah 
may  be  found,  weeping,  not  for  himself,  but  for  "  the 
slain  of  the  daughter  of  his  people  ;"  but  where  shall  we 
find  a  heart  so  large  as  Paul  describes,  "  Not  they  only, 
but  we  ourselves  also,  who  have  the  first-fruits  of  the 
Spirit,  even  we  ourselves  groan  within  ourselves," 
through  excessive  longing  for  a  world's  deliverance  !  Oh, 
to  hear  earth's  hills  and  valleys  ringing  with  hallelujahs 
that  come  from  souls  reposing  with  true  Sabbatic  rest 
on  their  God,  while  all  creation  listens  in  Sabbatic  peace 
and  serenity  !  One  of  our  own  poets  has  sung  of  this 
expected  time,  when  the  praise  of  Him  who  giveth  rest 
to  the  weary,  and  who  then  himself  enters  fully  on  his 
glorious  rest,  shall  be  the  daily  employment  of  nations  in 
every  land. 


CHAPTER  XXV.  447 

"  The  time  of  rest,  the  promised  Sabbath  comes ! 
***** 

Rivers  of  gladness  water  all  the  earth, 

And  clothe  all  climes  with  beauty.     The  reproach 

Of  barrenness  is  past.     The  fruitful  field 

Laughs  with  abundance ;  and  the  land,  once  lean, 

Or  fertile  only  in  its  own  disgrace, 

Exults  to  see  its  thirsty  curse  repealed. 

The  various  seasons  woven  into  one, 

And  that  one  season  an  eternal  spring. 

The  garden  feels  no  bhght ;  and  needs  no  fence, 

For  there  is  none  to  covet — all  are  full. 

The  lion,  and  the  leopard,  and  the  bear 

Graze  with  the  fearless  flocks 

One  song  employs  all  nations ;  and  all  cry 

'  Worthy  the  Lamb,  for  he  was  slain  for  us  T 

The  dwellers  in  the  vales  and  on  the  rocks 

Shout  to  each  other,  and  the  mountain  tops 

From  distant  mountains  catch  the  flying  joy ; 

Till,  nation  after  nation  taught  the  strain. 

Earth  rolls  the  rapturous  Hosanna  round." — Cowpee. 

THE    YEAR    OF    JUBILEE. 

Vers.  8,  9,  10,  11,  12,  13.  "  And  thou  shalt  number  seven  sabbaths  of 
years  unto  thee,  seven  times  seven  years ;  and  the  space  of  the 
seven  sabbaths  of  years  shall  be  unto  thee  forty  and  nine  years. 
Then  shalt  thou  cause  the  trumpet  of  the  jubilee  to  sound  on  the 
tenth  day  of  the  seventh  month,  in  the  day  of  atonement  shall  ye 
make  the  trumpet  sound  throughout  all  your  land.  And  ye  shall 
hallow  the  fiftieth  year,  and  proclaim  liberty  throughout  all  the 
land  unto  all  the  inhabitants  thereof:  it  shall  be  a  jubilee  unto  you ; 
and  ye  shall  return  every  man  unto  his  possession,  and  ye  shall  re- 
turn every  man  unto  his  family.  A  jubilee  shall  that  fiftieth  year 
be  unto  you  :  ye  shall  not  sow,  neither  reap  that  which  groweth  of 
itself  in  it,  nor  gather  the  grapes  in  it  of  thy  vine  undressed.  For 
it  is  the  jubilee  ;  it  shall  be  holy  unto  you ;  ye  shall  eat  the  increase 
thereof  out  of  the  field.  In  the  year  of  this  jubilee  ye  shall  return 
every  man  unto  his  possession." 

Like  the  striking  of  a  clock  from  the  turret  of  some 
cathedral,  announcing  that  the  season  of  labor  for  the 


448      THE   SABBATIC  YEAE,   AND   YEAR  OF  JUBILEE. 


day  is  closed,  so  sounded  the  notes  of  the  silver  trumpet 
from  the  sanctuary,  announcing  that  a  year  of  ces- 
sation from  all  toil  was  come,  and  a  year  of  redemp- 
tion from  all  burdens.  It  is  this  that  Isaiah  seems  to 
mean  when,  in  chap,  xxvii.  13,  he  speaks  of  "  The  great 
trumpet  being  hlown^^''  and  instantly  Israel,  in  all  lands, 
hear  and  flow  together. 

This  year  was  a  most  peculiar  time.  The  very  name 
(bni'i),  "  .Jobel,"  seems  invented  for  the  occasion,  and  is 
used  onward,  from  this  time,  whenever  the  trumpets 
were  to  sound  joyfully.  It  is  probable  that  the  word  is 
derived  from  the  root  b^nin  (Hiphil  of  ^3^),  meaning  "  to 
restore  or  bring  back  f^^  because  on  this  day  the  silver 
trumpet  proclaimed  release  and  restoration  throughout 
all  Israel. 

Does  the  Jubilee  represent  i\\Q  preaching  of  the  Gospel  ? 
Some  argue  that  it  does,  because  Isa.  Ixi.  1,  2,  as  used 
by  Jesus,  at  Nazareth,  seems  to  be  clothed  in  the  language 
of  the  jubilee.  The  true  answer  to  this  is,  that  Jesus 
was  the  High  Priest  who  blew  the  jubilee  trumpet 
throughout  all  the  land  of  Israel,  when  he  proclaimed, 
"  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand  !"  That  kingdom 
which  he  preached  brought  in  its  train  "  the  opening  of 
the  prison  door  to  the  bound,  deliverance  to  the  captive," 
as  well  as  ''glad  tidings  to  the  poor."  But  then  Jesus 
seems  to  have  intended  to  proclaim,  at  that  time  only, 
that  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  jubilee-year  should 

*  Some  Jewish  commentators  derive  it  from  the  supposed  signification, 
"  a  ram,"  which  they  say  it  has  in  Arabic.  But  even  they  are  evidently 
only  throwing  out  conjectures.  So  are  those  who  derive  it  from  Juhal, 
the  inventor  of  musical  instruments.  The  Septuagint  have  "  dipecris,"  and 
Josephus  has  "  i^svOepm"  both  pointing  to  the  sense  of  "  restoring."  Some 
think  that  "  the  times  of  the  restitution  of  all  thin^sj'  a-noKaTmraan,  refers 
to  this  very  word.     (Acts  iii.  21.) 


CHAPTER  XXV.  449 

belong  to  all  his  true  Israel.  The  true  time  of  the  actual 
jubilee  was  not  yet  come  ;  for  the  Day  of  Atonement  was 
not  past,  nor  had  the  high  priest  gone  in  within  the  veil 
with  his  sacrifice,  far  less  come  forth  from  the  veil.  It 
is  clear,  therefore,  that  our  Lord's  ministry  was  not  the 
fulfilment  of  this  type,  but  only  the  prelude  of  it ;  as  if  the 
high  priest  of  Israel  had  on  the  morning  of  the  Day  of 
Atonement,  proclaimed  to  all  the  worshippers,  that  who- 
ever was  of  the  seed  of  Israel  should,  at  the  close  of  the 
day,  hear  the  glad  sound  of  entire  deliverance,  and  enter 
on  a  year  of  rest.  Christ's  first  coming  gives  the  earnest 
of  those  blessings  which  his  second  coming  shall  give  in 
fall.  Just  as  a  Sabbath,  truly  enjoyed,  gives  us  at 
present  that  rest  and  refreshing  of  soul  which  we  shall 
yet  have  also  in  body  amid  a  universe  at  rest.=^ 

The  proper  fulfilment  of  the  type  is  found  by  the  refer- 
ences in  Isa.  xxvii.  13,  ''  The  great  trumpet  blowrC  for 
Israel's  restoration  ;  and  Isa.  Ixiii.  4,  ''  The  year  of  my 
redeemed^"^  C^^^^?) — those  to  whom  I  acted  the  kinsman's 
part  (^^^'iii).  Perhaps,  also,  Zech.  ix.  12,  where  the  blood 
of  the  covenant  is  assigned  as  the  reason  why  these 
^^  prisoners  of  hope^^i  are  to  be  set  free;  and  where,  in 
ver.  14,  we  hear  "  the  blowing  of  the  trumpet."  The 
time  of  fulfilment  is  thus  indicated  to  be  the  time  of 
Israel's  final  restoration,  and  the  time  of  the  Lord's 
glorious  Appearing. 

This  year  of  Jubilee  typified  the  same  as  the  Sabbatical 
year^  in  some  degree   (see  vers.  11,  12,   compared  with 

*  THe  jubilee  which  Christ's  first  coming  brings  us  is,  redemption  from 
ein  itself.  The  jubilee  •which  his  second  coming  brings  is,  redemption  from 
all  the  bitter  consequences  of  sin. 

t  fTlpPin*  expecting  aud  looking  forward  to  the  day  of  deliverance  with 
the  di:oKapalioKi<x  of  creation,  Roiq.  viii.  19. 


450      THE  SABBATIC  YEAR,   AND  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE. 

vers.  4,  5)  ;  but  it  did  so  with  great  enlargement.  It 
exhibits  some  of  the  joy^  and  the  causes  of  the  joy^  of 
that  millennial  time  (vers.  10,  13),  while  the  Sabbatical 
year  showed  merely  the  entire  rest  and  peace  that  should 
prevail.  Thus  we  find  that  these  different  types  advan- 
cing upon  one  another,  just  as  you  draw  out  a  telescope 
farther  and  farther,  till  you  find  the  proper  focus  for 
gazing  on  the  yet  more  unperceived  features  of  the  scene. 
The  seventh  day  exhibits  a  type  of  millennial  peace  ;  the 
seventh  year,  yet  more ;  and  now  the  seventh  year  of 
sevens  is  fuller  than  all  the  rest. 

The  Jubilee  (ver.  9)  always  began  on  the  evening  of 
the  Day  of  Atonement.  There  was  first  given  to  the 
people  a  full  display  of  the  way  of  pardon,  by  all  the 
ceremonies  of  that  day;  nay,  this  had  been  done  year 
after  year,  on  seven  times  seven  occasions,  ere  this  glo- 
rious Jubilee  was  proclaimed.  They  were  taught,  and 
we  by  them  are  taught,  that  the  full  atonement  of  Jesus 
— ^his  blood  shed  and  sprinkled  on  the  mercy-seat,  his 
entering  in  himself,  accepted  and  interceding,  and  his 
coming  forth  "  without  sin  unto  salvation" — is  the  foun- 
dation and  groundwork  of  all  other  blessings.  No  exter- 
nal blessing  can  be  ours,  in  that"  millennial  day,  unless 
previously  we  have  been  accepted  in  the  Beloved — 
forgiven,  sanctified,  made  heirs  with  Christ.  Is  it  thus 
with  thee,  0  brother  ?  Can  Christ,  the  Redeemer,  the 
^^?i3,  say  of  thee  this  day,  "  Thou  art  one  of  my  redeemed, 
one  of  ^'bsiJis  ?"  For  only  thus  canst  thou  hope  that  he 
will  have  thee  on  his  heart  and  in  his  eye  on  the  day  he 
cries,  "  The  year  of  my  redeemed  is  come  P'' 

In  their  returning  to  their  possession  (vers.  10,  13), 
we  see  a  picture  of  human  happiness  in  one  of  its  most 
natural  and  intelligible  forms.     You  see  parents  rejoicing 


CHAPTER  XXV.  451 

for  their  children's  sake,  and  children  for  their  own,  in 
being  once  more  allowed  to  sit  under  their  vine  and  fig- 
tree,  and  pluck  the  flowers  and  fruit  of  a  region  so  sweet, 
and  balmy,  and  abundant.  You  seem  to  see  their  happy 
countenances,  and  eyes  bright  with  joy ;  and  the  holy 
look  toward  heaven  of  the  man  of  faith  and  prayer,  who 
thanks  the  Lord  for  all.  They  forget  the  past  in  the  joy 
of  the  present.  Past  losses  are  made  up.  Nor  is  one 
solitary  individual  forgotten  (ver.  13) ;  every  man  (^"'i<.) 
has  his  portion.  This  is  the  picture,  to  the  eye,  of  that 
glorious  season  when,  "  in  the  regeneration,^  every  one 
(7ra?  oaxig  dcprjxev'j  that  has  forsaken  houses,  or  brethren, 
or  sisters,  or  father,  or  mother,  or  wife,  or  children,  or 
lands,"  for  Christ's  sake,  shall  inherit  everlasting  life. 
(Matt.  xix.  29.)  There  shall  be  a  mansion  for  each  ;  and 
each  shall  stand  ^^  in  his  lot,^^  or  assigned  portion,  "at 
the  end  of  the  days"  (Dan.  xii.  13),  when  the  Lord  Jesus 
fulfils  what  is  written  of  him  as  the  bringer  back  of 
Eden,  the  restorer  of  Paradise,  the  reverser  of  the  Fall, 
"  causing  to  inherit  the  desolate  heritages,  and  restoring 
the  earth."     (Isa.  xlix.  8.) 

Vers.  14,  15,  16,  17.  "  And  if  thou  sell  aught  unto  thy  neighbor,  or 
buyest  aught  of  thy  neighbor's  hand,  ye  shall  not  oppress  one  another : 
according  to  the  number  of  years  after  the  jubilee  thou  shaltbuy  of 
thy  neighbor,  and  according  unto  the  number  of  years  of  the  fruits  he 
shall  sell  unto  thee  :  according  to  the  multitude  of  years  thou  shalt 
increase  the  price  thereof,  and  according  to  the  fewness  of  years 
thou  shalt  diminish  the  price  of  it :  for  according  to  the  number  of 
the  years  of  the  fruits  doth  he  sell  unto  thee.  Ye  shall  not  there- 
fore oppress  one  another  ;  but  thou  shalt  fear  thy  God :  for  I  am 
the  Lord  your  God." 


*  The  word  is  "  iraXiyyevetna,"  which,  it  is  remarkable,  Josephus  uses  to 
express  the  restoration  of  one  to  his  native  country,  after  the  exile  to 
Babylon  ;  and  which  is  also  used  of  the  renewal  of  earth  after  the  deluge 
and  of  the  restoration  of  Job  to  his  former  prosperity.  (Bretschneider's  Lex.) 


452      THE   SABBATIC   YEAR,   AND  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE. 

Here  are  some  of  the  abuses  to  which  this  glorious 
ordinance  might  be  perverted  by  ungodly  men.  The 
selfishness  of  men  has,  in  every  age,  and  under  every 
form  of  truth,  discovered  itself  as  now.  An  ungodly, 
self-seeking  Jew  said  in  his  heart,  "  I  might  make  some 
gain  of  this  Jubilee  ;  let  me  see  how  wisely  I  may  calcu- 
late my  circumstances  in  reference  to  it.  I  have  a  gar- 
den at  Engedi,  which  I  might  let  at  a  high  price.  The 
purchaser  will  perhaps  not  remember  that  the  jubilee  is 
near,  and  so  I  shall  let  out  my  garden  to  him  at  a  rate 
which  a  few  years'  possession  of  the  garden  would  more 
than  refund.  He  will  probably  have  this  in  view  when 
he  accepts  my  terms  ;  but  it  is  now  just  a  year  to  the 
Jubilee,  and  so  I  shall  get  this  large  rent  in  the  mean- 
time, and  my  garden  also  in  the  course  of  a  year."  In 
this  way,  the  worldly  Israelite  turned  grace  into  licen- 
tiousness, "  supposing  that  gain  was  godliness.'** 

Or  if  he  did  not  overreach  his  neighbor  in  this  manner, 
the  ungodly  Israelite  sometimes  tried  to  do  it  by  another 
mode  equally  deceitful.  He  cunningly  included  in  his 
estimate  of  the  valued  worth  of  an  estate  the  seven  Sab- 
batical years,  although  during  these  years  no  fruit  was 
gathered ;  and  thus  a  bargain  made  immediately  after 
the  jubilee,  which  reckoned  on  the  increase  oi  forty -nine 
years  yet  to  run,  was  really  a  defrauding  the  purchaser 
of  seven  whole  years  of  fruit.  This  is  meant  by  saying 
(vers.  15,  16),  that  only  "  the  years  of  fruit s,''''  i.  e.,  the 
productive  years,  and  not  the  Sabbatical  ones,  are  to  be 
counted  in  such  bargains. 

*  1  Tim.  vi.  5.  Our  version  does  not  here  give  the  real  sense  ;  for  the 
position  of  the  article  proves  that  "gain"  is  the  predicate:  "■  Godliness  is 
gain"  "  itopiaiiov  elvai  TTjv  EvasQciav."  Such  men  think  that  godliness  is  just 
fe  system  to  be  upheld  for  the  sake  of  worldly  ends. 


CHAPTER  XXV.  453 

It  is  thus  that  men  abuse  the  doctrines  of  grace, 
deceiving  their  fellow-creatures  and  injuring  their  own 
souls.  One  man  uses  the  Lord's  table  as  a  means  of 
establishing  his  character  in  the  sight  of  the  world. 
Another  asks  baptism  for  his  children  from  the  same 
motive.  Some  adopt  the  doctrines  of  free  grace  as  their 
views,  in  order  to  be  able  to  sin  on,  and  yet  have  hope 
of  running  to  the  Ark  whenever  the  first  drops  of  the 
deluge  fall.  It  is  the  doctrines  of  Christ's  first  coming 
that  men  so  abuse  now  ;  whereas  it  was,  in  the  case 
before  us,  the  doctrine  or  type  of  his  second,  that  Israel 
abused  to  purposes  of  gain,  forgetting  the  spiritual  glory 
of  the  days  of  jubilee,  and  that  "  Every  man  that  had 
this  hope  in  Him  (i.  e.,  in  Christ),  purifieth  himself  even 
as  he  is  pure." 

Vers.  18,  19,  20,  21,  22.  "Wherefore  ye  shall  do  my  statutes,  and 
keep  my  judgments,  and  do  them ;  and  ye  shall  dwell  in  the  land 
in  safety.  And  the  land  shall  yield  her  fruit,  and  ye  shall  eat  your 
fill,  and  dwell  therein  in  safety.  And  if  ye  shall  say,  What  shall 
"we  eat  the  seventh  year  ?  behold,  we  shall  not  sow,  nor  gather  in 
our  increase:  then  I  will  command  my  blessing  upon  you  in  the 
sixth  year  ;  and  it  shall  bring  forth  fruit  for  three  years.  And  ye 
shall  sow  the  eiglith  year,  and  eat  yet  of  old  fruit  until  the  ninth 
year,  until  her  fruits  come  in  ye  shall  eat  of  the  old  store." 

Unbelief  steps  in,  arising  from  human  reason.  The 
godly  will  not  abuse  the  glorious  ordinances  of  the  Sab- 
batic year  and  the  jubilee  ;  but  they  may  be  tempted  to 
unbelief.  They  may  be  ready  to  say,  '•  What  shall  we 
eat?"  Hence,  our  most  gracious  Grod  anticipates  such 
risings  of  distrust.  Suspicion,  and  doubt,  and  fear  on  the 
part  of  his  own  people  are  always'  most  grievous  to  him ; 
and,  therefore,  he  seeks  to  prevent  them.  How  truly 
he  knows  our  frame — our  tendency  to  distrustful  anxieties, 
*' If  ye  say,  What  shall  we  eat?"     Even  as  Jesus  also, 


454      THE  SABBATIC  YEAR,   AND  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE. 


dwelling  among  us  in  flesh,  perceived  too  plainly  when 
he  said,  "  Seek  not  ye  what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye 
shall  drink,  neither  be  ye  of  doubtful  mind."  (Luke  xii. 
29.)  The  Lord  pledges  his  providence  in  their  behalf; 
and  surely  this  should  be  enough  for  every  believing 
man  ;  even  as  now  also  he  says,  "  Your  heavenly  Father 
knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of  these  things."  Yet  how 
often  still  is  a  man  overcome  by  the  fear  of  losing  employ- 
ment, place,  support,  friends,  if  he  adheres  to  the  Lord's 
cause !  How  many  fall  before  these  temptations  still ! 
Oh,  we  little  credit  the  Lord's  faithfulness  !  How  abun- 
dant is  the  promised  provision,  reaching  over  the  three 
years  of  which  they  were  in  doubt  even  until  the  new 
fruits  came  in.  May  we  not  leave  in  his  hands  all  our 
difficulties  as  to  the  manner  of  future  provision,  and  his 
mode  of  operation  ? 

The  blessing  of  the  Lord,  not  their  industry,  or  skill, 
or  foresight,  was  to  be  the  source  of  all  their  safety  and 
plenty.  Nothing  else  is  in  sight,  to  sustain  faith,  but  the 
assurance  given  that  the  Lord  is  able  and  willing — his 
heart  full  of  love  to  them,  his  holy  arm  full  of  strength 
for  them.  It  was  thus  that  Lsrael  was  kept  looking  to 
Jehovah  himself  amid  the  luxuriance  of  their  land — even 
as  when  we  gaze  on  the  endless  glories  of  the  infinitely 
varied  clouds  of  a  summer's  sunset,  we  cannot  fail  all  the 
time  to  feel  that  every  crimson  tint  and  every  flush  of 
beauty  is  dependent  on  the  far  more  glorious  sun.  And, 
when  the  jubilee  came  round  with  its  many  joys,  all 
Israel  must  have  felt  that  the  nether  springs  were  fed 
directly  from  the  upper  springs — the  gladness  of  their 
happy  tribes  was  the  immediate  effect  of  the  love  of  their 
God  and  King. 


CHAPTER  XXV.  455 

Vers.  23,  24,  25,  26,  27,  28.  "  The  land  shall  not  be  sold  forever :  for 
the  land  is  mine ;  for  ye  are  strangers  and  sojourners  with  me.  And 
in  all  the  land  of  your  possession  ye  shall  grant  a  redemption  for  the 
land.  If  thy  brother  be  waxen  poor,  and  hath  sold  away  some  of 
his  possession,  and  if  any  of  his  kin  come  to  redeem  it,  then  shall  he 
redeem  that  which  his  brother  sold.  And  if  the  man  have  none  to 
redeem  it,  and  himself  be  able  to  redeem  it ;  then  let  him  count 
the  year  of  the  sale  thereof,  and  restore  the  overplus  unto  the  man 
to  whom  he  sold  it ;  that  he  may  return  unto  his  possession.  But 
if  he  be  not  able  to  restore  it  to  him,  then  that  which  is  sold  shall 
remain  in  the  hand  of  him  that  hath  bought  it  until  the  year  of 
jubilee :  and  in  the  jubilee  it  shall  go  out,  and  he  shall  return  unto 
his  possession." 

Here  appears  G-od's  intention  to  preserve  Israel's  land 
for  them,  as  well  as  them  for  it.  The  Lord,  in  allusion 
to  Egyptian  affairs,  says,  "  The  land  is  mineJ^  The  land 
in  Egypt  was  properly  the  king's ;  and  all  others  were 
his  tenants,*  since  the  days  of  Joseph.  (Gren.  xlvii.  13 
-26.)  On  the  other  hand,  Israel's  land  belonged  to  Je- 
hovah ;  and  the  people  were  his  guests,  or  tenants,  "  so- 
journers with  him."  On  this  account,  no  man  had  a 
right  to  sell  any  portion  of  it  '*  forever."  The  Lord 
wished  each  tribe,  and  each  family  of  a  tribe,  to  retain 
its  original  possessions  for  the  sake  of,  1,  preserving 
genealogies  unmixed,  till  Messiah  came ;  2,  preventing 
the  covetous  and  ambitious  from  "  adding  field  to  field :" 
3,  cherishing  family  associations  with  places,  as  thereby 
domestic  feelings  and  the  ties  of  kindred  are  strength- 
ened. 

Hence,  '^  a  right  of  redemption"  belonged  to  every  one 
whose  portion  of  land  had  been  sold  for  a  time,  a  right  to 
redeem  it  whenever  he  was  able.  If  the  man  grew  richer 
after  his  poverty,  and  was  able  to  pay  the  value  of  the 

*  Except  the  priests,  who  received  their  support  from  the  king,  also,  as 
part  of  the  Government.     See  Hengstenberg's  Egypt. 


456  THE  SABBATIC  YEAR,  AND  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE. 

income  for  the  years  still  remaining  till  the  jubilee  ("  the 
overplus,"  ver.  27),  he  may  at  once  enter  again  on  pos- 
session. If  not  able  "  to  restore  the  overplus"  (ver.  28), 
still  his  portion  of  land,  shall  be  his  at  the  next  jubilee. 
Thus,  for  example,  if  Elimelech'sland  (Ruth  iv.  3,  4)  had 
actually  been  alienated,  still  it  v^ould  have  returned  to 
Naomi's  family  at  the  jubilee.  But  if  some  Boaz  slip  in — 
if  the  poor  Jew  have  a  relative — "  any  of  his  kin'''  (ibij^a 
I'lbx  S'^I^n) — able  and  willing  to  pay  the  price  and  restore 
him  back  his  possession,  this  kinsman  shall  have  the 
liberty  to  do  so.  The  expression,  "  If  any  of  his  kin 
come  to  redeem  it,"  implies  the  necessity  for  willingness 
on  the  friend's  part ;  and  it  points  at  the  same  time  very 
naturally  forward  to  him  who  is  so  often  spoken  of  as 
"  coming  to  redeem"  us.  "  The  Redeemer  shall  cojne  to 
Zion,"  says  Isa.  lix.  20,  using  the  name  Goel.  Himself 
said  in  eternity,  "  Lo  !  I  come  I"  The  shout,  the  hosan- 
na-shout  is  yet  to  be  raised  when  he  com,es  again  to  re- 
deem earth  itself^  and  not  its  people  only ;  "  Blessed  is 
He  that  cometW — the  kinsman,  the  Goel,  that  cometh 
to  restore  our  possession.  And  Job's  hope  becomes  frui- 
tion, "  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  "^^Jith,  liveth,  and  shall 
stand  on  the  earth  at  the  latter  day."     (Job  xix.  25.) 

Our  Saviour  needed  to  be  our  "  kinsman.^''  in  order  to 
possess  a  right  to  offer  the  price  of  redemption.  Hence, 
he  took  our  very  nature,  and  was  "  bone  of  our  bone  and 
flesh  of  our  flesh."  (Eph.  v.  30.)  "  Forasmuch  as  the 
children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  he  also  himself 
likewise  took  part  of  the  same."  (Heb.  ii.  14.)  And  by 
becoming  thus  related  to  us,  he  has  the  right,  and  will 
enforce  it,  of  redeeming  not  only  the  persons  of  his  own, 
but  the  very  earth  on  which  they  dwell.  They  are  from 
all  "  kindreds  and  tongues  and  people  ;"  and  so  he  shall 


CHAPTER  XXV.  457 

claim  a  right  to  entire  pessession  of  the  earth  ;  and  Satan 
shall  be  driven  forth  from  his  long-usurped  throne.  How 
joyful  for  us  to  traverse  the  plains,  or  stand  on  the  hills, 
or  trace  the  winding  rivers  of  this  earth,  and  to  remember 
that  '*  the  Redeemer''''  of  this  decayed  inheritance  is  living 
now  and  soon  to  come  again  ;  and  that  he  is  one  who  has 
all  the  affections,  as  well  as  ties  of  relationship.  How 
glorious  our  prospect — how  sure  our  redemption,  body, 
soul,  and  spirit,  as  well  as  inheritance,  when  our  Re- 
deemer is  such  an  one  as  would  become  our  kinsman  in 
very  love  to  us !  He  loved  "  the  children  ;"  and  since 
they  had  flesh  and  blood,  lo !  therefore,  he  must  out  of 
love  insist  on  taking  the  same  I  And  it  is  done.  He  is 
born  of  Mary's  substance,  yet  continuing  holy,  harmless, 
undefiled.^  He  is  feeble,  and  needs  to  "be  swaddled  in 
swaddling-clothes,  and  to  lean  on  a  mother's  breast ;  and 
now  so  evidently  and  truly  is  Grod  manifest  in  flesh,  that 
Luther  could  write — 

"  There  is  no  God  but  He, 
Who  lay  upon  his  mother's  knee, 
And  sucked  the  Virgin's  breasts." 

"  He  increased  in  wisdom  and  stature,  and  in  favor 
with  God."  His  human  faculties  expand  ;  and  even  as 
a  lily,  as  it  grows  and  unfolds  its  leaves,  receives  more 
and  more  of  the  sunshine  into  its  bosom,  so  he  receives 
more  and  more  of  the  favor  of  his  father,  has  fuller  mani- 
festations of  his  Father's  love  poured  into  him,  according 
as  his  faculties  expand  and  enlarge.  He  lives  on  the 
creature's,  not  on  angelic  food.     He  takes  for  his  food 

*  "  Nam  ilia  quae  Deceptor  intulit,  et  homo  deceptus  admisit,  nullum 
habuere  in  salvatore  vestigium."  Leo's  Epistle,  quoted  by  Marcus  Dodda 
on  Incarnat. 

20 


458      THE  SABBATIC  YEAR,   AND  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE. 

the  bread  that  disciples  bring  him  from  Sychar,  or  the 
barley-loaves  and  small  fishes  of  the  lake  that  the  young 
man  of  Gralilee  happens  to  have  in  his  basket ;  or  plucks 
a  fig  from  the  tree,  and  is  refreshed  by  a  piece  of  a  honey- 
comb. He  drinks  the  wine  of  the  grape  at  Cana,  and 
pure  water  from  the  well  of  Jacob.  If  no  food  from 
earth  is  at  hand,  he  hungers ;  if  heat  beat  on  him,  he 
grows  weary  and  thirsty.  He  is  glad  of  a  pillow  whereon 
to  place  his  head  on  board  the  ship,  and  is  revived  by 
the  sound  slumber  of  a  few  hours.  And  his  human  soul 
puts  forth  its  powers  upon  the  objects  upon  which  man 
ought  to  exercise  his  mind  and  feeling.  His  soul  lives 
by  faith  —  upheld  by  the  Father's  testimony.  For, 
hearken  ;  "  The  Lord  Grod  will  help  me  ;  therefore,  shall 
I  not  be  confounded  :  therefore  have  I  set  my  face  like  a 
flint,  and  I  know  that  I  shall  not  be  ashamed"  (Isa.  1. 
7) ;  or,  again,  when  sense  says,  "  I  have  labored  in  vain, 
I  have  spent  my  strength  for  naught  and  in  vain,"  faith 
responds,  "Yet  surely  my  judgment  is  with  the  Lord, 
and  my  work  with  my  Grod."  (Isa.  xlix.  4.)  And  hope^ 
too,  enlivened  his  dark  sorrow;  "  For  the  joy  that  was 
set  before  him,  he  endured  the  cross"  (Heb.  xiii.  3) ;  even 
from  his  birth  it  shed  its  cheerful  rays  over  his  marred 
countenance ;  "  Thou  didst  make  me  hope  when  I  was 
on  my  mother's  breasts."  (Ps.  xxii.  9.)  He  sang,  "  Thou 
art  my  hope^  0  Lord  God ;  thou  art  my  trust  from  my 
youth."  (Ps.  Ixxii.  5.)  And  after  the  fear,  and  sore 
amazement,  and  heaviness  of  G-ethsemane,  and  that  ex- 
pression of  most  affectionate  human  feeling  toward  his 
mother  in  the  very  hour  of  infinite  woe  (John  xix.  26), 
his  assured  faith,  reposing  on  his  Father's  bosom  of  love 
even  in  the  hour  of  darkness,  shone  forth  with  a  bright- 
ness that  casts  into  the  shade  all  other  acts  of  faith  ever 


CHAPTER  XXV.  459 

manifested  on  this  earth,  "  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  com- 
mend my  spirit !" 

Truly  he  is  our  kinsman  I  Nay,  like  one  who  is  near- 
est of  kin  ;  for  his  feelings  are  most  vehement  toward  us. 
He  will  not,  like  the  nearest  friend  of  Naomi  (Ruth  iv. 
4-6),  refuse  to  redeem  either  our  persons,  or  our  inherit- 
ance, for  he  has  all  Boaz's  desire  toward  us,  in  thousand- 
fold strength,  with  the  undoubted  right  to  appear  for  us. 
Nay,  Rev.  v.  5-7  declares,  that  not  only  has  he  already, 
by  his  blood,  paid  the  price  for  our  persons*  as  the  Lamb 
slain,  but  has  also  claimed  the  right  to  enter  for  us  on 
possession  of  the  inheritance.  He  took  the  seven-sealed 
book ;  thereby  claiming  to  be  heir  of  the  property  ( Jer. 
xxxii.  8,  10,  11),  and  all  heaven  rejoiced,  and  the  Father 
acknowledged  his  claim.  Already,  then,  by  hope  may 
we  anticipate  our  return  to  our  lost  estate.  We  may, 
like  the  Church  above,  use  our  harps  to  praise  him  w^ho 
Cometh  to  put  us  in  possession ;  and  we  may,  like  them 
also,  hold  up  our  vials  of  prayer — that  is,  all  our  prayers 
ever  sent  up  in  faith,  which  now  are  filling  those  vials 
mentioned  in  Rev.  v.  8.  For  these  prayers  are  turned  by 
our  Priest  into  sweet  incense,  and  shall  not  fail  to  be 
acknowledged  by  him  then  ;  and  we  shall  sing  with  the 
Psalmist,  "  Our  prayers  are  ended !"  (Ps.  Ixxii.  20,) 
since  every  desire  of  our  heart  shall  then  be  satisfied. 
Meanwhile,  he  "  puts  our  tears  into  his  bottle"  (Ps.  Ivi. 
8),  and  we  wait  for  his  Appearing. 

Ver.  29,  30,  31,  32,  33,  34.  "  And  if  a  man  sell  a  dwelling-house  in  a 
walled  city,  then  he  may  redeem  it  within  a  whole  year  after  it  is 
sold ;  within  a  full  year  may  he  redeem  it.     And  if  it  be  not  re- 

*  The  redemption  of  our  persons  is  referred  to  afterwards  (ver.  48),  but 
of  course  only  in  connection  with  the  redemption  of  the  land.  For  the  re- 
demption of  our  souls  has  been  detailed  throughout  this  book. 


460   THE  SABBATIC  YEAR,  AND  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE. 

deemed  within  the  space  of  a  full  year,  then  the  house  that  is  in  the 
walled  cj^y  shall  be  established  forever  to  him  that  bought  it, 
throughout  his  generations :  it  shall  not  go  out  in  the  jubilee.  But 
the  houses  of  the  villages  which  have  no  walls  round  about  them 
shall  be  counted  as  the  fields  of  the  country :  they  may  be  redeem- 
ed, and  they  shall  go  out  in  the  jubilee.  Notwithstanding,  the 
cities  of  tlae  Levites,  and  the  houses  of  the  cities  of  their  possession, 
may  the  Levites  redeem  at  any  time.  And  if  a  man  purchase  of 
the  Levites,  then  the  house  that  was  sold,  and  the  cily  of  his  pos- 
session, shall  go  out  in  the  year  of  jubilee :  for  the  houses  of  the 
cities  of  the  Levites  are  their  possession  among  the  children  of 
Israel.  But  the  field  of  the  suburbs  of  their  cities  may  not  be  sold; 
for  it  is  their  perpetual  possession." 

It  is  the  landy  and  God's  allotment  of  the  land,  that  is 
to  continue  ;  not  man's  work  in  it.  Even  as  it  is  the 
earth  itself  that  is  to  abide  forever  as  the  theatre  of 
redemption,  and  not  man's  vv^orks  on  it,  which  are  to  be 
burnt  up.  Hence,  houses  in  towns  might  be  perpetually 
alienated,  these  being  the  invention  of  man.  And  while 
the  type  was  kept  entire  in  regard  to  the  land^  this  rule 
enabled  proselytes  and  strangers  to  take  up  permanent 
abode  in  Israel. 

Next  (ver.  31) ;  the  villages  being  properly  the  country, 
built  as  they  were  amid  the  olive,  and  fig,  and  pome- 
granate, and  palm,  with  the  vine  entwining  its  boughs 
by  the  sides  of  their  houses,  must  fall  under  the  rule  of 
redemption,  and  must  never  be  alienated.  And  thus, 
while  the  type  in  regard  to  the  land  is  preserved  entire 
here  also,  there  is  a  provision  against  the  tyranny  of  the 
princes,  who  might  have  tried,  from  their  baronial  resi- 
dences, to  subject  the  people  of  a  poor  village  to  their  dom- 
ination. 

But  as  to  the  Levites'  possessions  (vers.  32-34),  these 
must  never  be  alienated  ;  for  they  are  the  Lord's  gift  to 
them.     Hence,  even  their  walled  cities  may  be  redeem- 


CHAPTER  XXV.  461 

ed ;  for  these  are  properly  the  Lord's  provision  for  them, 
not  man's  provision  for  himself.  Also,  ver.  33  ought  to 
be  rendered  more  literally  thus :  "  And  should  any  one 
redeem  (^h?*'?)  from  the  Levites,  then  the  house  that  was 
sold,  and  the  city  of  his  possession,  shall  go  out  in  the 
year  of  jubilee."  That  is,  if  one,  not  of  the  tribe  of  Levi, 
but  a  relative  and  kinsman  by  marriage,  probably,  redeem 
one  of  these  houses  of  the  Levites  :  in  other  words,  if  he 
buy  the  house  on  account  of  his  relationship,  and  to  give 
the  use  of  it  to  his  friend,  yet  still  it  shall  in  no  way  be 
removed  from  the  tribe  of  Levi.  It  must  return  as  a 
Levitical  possession  to  the  Levite  himself  at  the  time  of 
the  jubilee.  So  jealously  does  the  Lord  guard  his  gifts 
to  his  people.     "  They  are  without  repentance." 

Vers.  35,  36,  37,  38,  39,  40,  41,  42,  43,  44,  45,  46.  "  And  if  thy  brother 
be  waxen  poor,  and  fallen  in  decay  with  thee,  then  thou  shalt  relieve 
him :  yea,  though  he  be  a  stranger,  or  a  sojourner ;  that  he  may 
live  with  thee.  Take  thou  no  usury  of  him,  or  increase :  but  fear 
thy  God ;  that  thy  brother  may  live  with  thee.  Thou  shalt  not 
give  him  thy  money  upon  usury,  nor  lend  him  thy  victuals  for  in- 
crease. I  am  the  Lord  your  God,  which  brought  you  forth  out  of 
the  land  of  Egypt,  to  give  you  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  to  be  your 
God.  And  if  thy  brother  that  dwelleth  by  thee  be  waxen  poor, 
and  be  sold  unto  thee,  thou  shalt  not  compel  him  to  serve  as  a 
bondservant :  but  as  an  hired  servant,  and  as  a  sojourner,  he  shall 
be  with#hee,  and  shall  serve  thee  unto  the  year  of  jubilee :  and  then 
shall  he  depart  from  thee,  both  he  and  his  children  with  him,  and 
shall  return  unto  his  own  family,  and  unto  the  possession  of  his 
fathers  shall  he  return.  For  they  are  my  servants,  which  I  brought 
forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt :  they  shall  not  be  sold  as  bondmen. 
Thou  shalt  not  rule  over  him  with  rigor :  but  shalt  fear  thy  God. 
Both  thy  bondmen  and  thy  bondmaids,  which  thou  shalt  have,  shall 
be  of  the  Heathen  that  are  round  about  you ;  of  them  shall  ye  buy 
bondmen  and  bondmaids.  Moreover,  of  the  children  of  the  stran- 
gers that  do  sojourn  among  you,  of  them  shall  ye  buy,  and  of  their 
families  that  are  with  you,  which  they  begat  in  your  land :  and 
they  shall  be  your«po.ssession.    And  ye  shall  take  them  as  an  in- 


462      THE   SABBATIC  YEAE,   AND  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE. 

heritance  for  your  children  after  you,  to  inherit  them  for  a  pos- 
session: they  shall  be  your  bondmen  forever;  but  over  your 
brethren,  the  children  of  Israel,  ye  shall  not  rule  one  over  another 
■with  rigor." 

Here  begins  a  statement  of  our  duties  in  prospect  of 
"  That  Blessed  Hope."  The  glorious  prospect  of  jubilee 
is  not  to  supersede  present  duty.  Nay,  rather,  like  Matt. 
XXV.  34,  35,  it  enforces  present  duty  by  exhibiting  to  us 
what  is  the  mind  of  Grod,  and  what  his  feelings  would  be 
in  our  situation. 

You  are  not  to  say,  *'  Let  me  leave  my  poor  brother  as 
he  is ;  he  will  soon  get  relief  better  than  I  could  give ; 
for  the  jubilee  is  coming  on."     No,  saith  the  Lord,  you 
in  the  mean  time  must  do  what  is  in  your  power  to  help 
him,  even  though  he  be  no  relative  of  yours,  nor  acquain- 
tance, but  a  mere  sojourner.     Let  him  "  live  with  thee," 
i.  e.,  live  prosperously,  or  lead  what  may  be  called  a  life. 
Be  generous  to  him.     You  must  not  relieve  him  in  the 
hope  of  recompense  (except  that  at  the  resurrection  of  the 
just,  Luke  xiv.  14) ;  no  usury  for  the  loan,  far  less  any 
^''increase'''  (or  interest  on  his  very  victuals)  must  be 
ever  thought  of.     "  Fear  thy  Grod  ;"  do  all  from  holy  love 
and  regard  to  his  will.     "I  brought  you  from  Egypt;" 
let  redemption  open  your  hearts  to  others.    J'  I  gave  thee 
Canaan  ;"  and  may  I  not  ask  thee  to  give  of  its  produce 
to  the  poor  ?     '•'•  I  am  thy  God  f  and  so  thou  hadst  all 
things  in  me,  and  art  never  poor.     How  easily  may  you 
part  with  all  things,  since  I  am  your  Grod.     See  Acts  ii. 
43  to  the  end,  for  a  New  Testament  proof  that  redeemed 
men  estimate  fully  all  these  arguments,  and  are  easily 
led  to  obey. 

Further  :  an  Israelite  must  show  his  brotherly  feelings 
if  (vers.  39-41)  one  of  his  countrymen  be  reduced  so  low 


CHAPTER  XXV.  463 

in  poverty  as  to  be  sold  for  debt,  like  the  widow's  two 
sons,  2  Kings  iv.  1.  He  must  treat  him  as  only  a  hired 
servant,  and  even  as  such  detain  him  no  longer  than  the 
jubilee.  The  reason  is  very  precious,  ver.  42  ;  "  for  they 
are  my  servants.''''  The  Lord  will  not  leave  any  of  his 
purchased  ones  to  the  cruelty  of  others.  Woe  to  those 
who  use  a  believer  harshly  !  They  touch  the  "  apple  of 
his  eye."  Have  the  workers  of  iniquity  no  knowledge  ? 
Why  persecute  ye  Jesus  ?  '^  The  year  of  his  redeemed" 
is  near. 

Once  more :  an  Israelite  may  have  slaves  and  bond- 
maids from  the  Heathen,  and  these  he  may  retain  as 
slaves  forever.  In  this  there  lies  a  type.  It  is  not  that 
Moses,  or  the  Lord  speaking  by  Moses,  sanctions  slavery. 
He  gives  no  right  to  one  man  over  another's  person, 
except  where  there  is  sin  and  crime  to  be  punished,  as 
in  the  case  of  criminals.  But  here,  the  Lord  wished  to 
punish  the  Canaanites  and  other  Heathen  nations,  be- 
cause of  their  Heathenism ;  and  of  course  the  Lord  has 
a  right  so  to  do.  His  decree,  therefore,  is  this :  that 
Heathens  shall  be  exposed  to  bondage,  and  Israel  shall 
take  them  as  their  slaves.  Slavery  here  is  evidently 
altogether  another  thing  from  modern  slavery  ;  for — 1.  It 
proceeds  on  the  Lord's  permission  and  command.  2.  It 
is  the  consequence  of  sin  in  the  enslaved.  And  while  it 
is  a  penalty  paid  by  rebellious  ones,  who  cleaved  to  idols, 
it  exhibits  in  type  the  future  exaltation  of  the  sons  of 
God  in  the  time  of  the  Jubilee  of  earth.  It  shows  "  the 
liberty  of  the  sons  of  God"  (Rom.  viii.  21),  and  their  do- 
minion. Israel,  in  those  days,  shall  have  "  strangers  to 
feed  their  flocks,  and  sons  of  the  aliens  to  be  their 
ploughmen  and  vine-dressers"  (Isa.  Ixi.  5) ;  and  the  risen, 
glorified  saints  shall  "  execute  vengeance  on  the  Heathen, 


464      THE   SABBATIC  YEAK,   AND  YEAE  OF  JUBILEE. 

and  punishments  upon  the  people"  (Ps.  cxlix.  7)  ;  and 
all  men  shall  know  that  the  Lord  has  loved  them,  when 
"  they  have  power  over  the  nations."     (Rev.  ii.  26.) 

Vers.  47,  48,  49,  50,  51,  52,  53,  54,  55.  "And  if  a  sojourner  or  stranger 
wax  rich  by  thee,  and  thy  brother  that  dwelleth  by  him  wax  poor, 
and  sell  himself  unto  the  stranger  or  sojourner  by  thee,  or  to  the 
stock  of  the  stranger's  family :  after  that  he  is  sold  he  may  be  re- 
deemed again;  one  of  his  brethren  may  redeem  him:  either  his 
uncle,  or  his  uncle's  son,  may  redeem  him,  or  any  that  is  nigh  of  kin 
unto  him  of  his  family  may  redeem  him ;  or,  if  he  be  able,  he  may 
redeem  himself.  And  he  shall  reckon  with  him  that  bought  him 
from  the  year  that  he  was  sold  to  him  unto  the  year  of  jubilee :  and 
the  price  of  his  sale  shall  be  according  unto  the  number  of  years, 
according  to  the  time  of  an  hired  servant  shall  it  be  with  him.  If 
there  be  yet  many  years  behind,  according  unto  them  he  shall  give 
again  the  price  of  his  redemption  out  of  the  money  that  he  was 
bought  for.  And  if  there  remain  but  few  years  unto  the  year  of 
jubilee,  then  he  shall  count  with  him,  and  according  unto  his  years 
shall  he  give  him  again  the  price  of  his  redemption.  And  as  a 
yearly  hired  servant  shall  he  be  with  him :  and  the  other  shall  noli 
rule  with  rigor  over  him  in  thy  sight.  And  if  he  be  not  redeemed 
in  these  years,  then  he  shall  go  out  in  the  year  of  jubilee,  both  he, 
and  his  children  with  him.  For  unto  me  the  children  of  Israel  are 
servants  ;  they  are  my  servants,  whom  I  brought  forth  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt :  I  am  the  Lord  your  God." 

Here  is  comfort  for  all  Israel  in  hope  of  the  jubilee. 

The  case  is  supposed  of  a  rich  foreigner  purchasing 
for  his  bondman  one  of  the  poor  of  Israel  who  had  fallen 
into  decay.  The  Lord  states  the  case,  and  shows  his  de- 
sire that  this  Israelite  should  not  so  continue.  It  is  the 
duty  of  friends  to  redeem  them  (vers.  48,  49).  At  all 
events,  no  stranger  shall  hold  him  in  bondage  beyond  the 
jubilee. 

Here  is  the  Lord's  determination  to  exalt  his  peculiar 
people,  saving  them  from  all  oppressors,  even  when  they 
have,  through  their  own  sin,  fallen  into  decay.     The 


CHAPTER  XXV.  465 

times  of  the  G-entiles  shall  end  ;  and  Israel  shall  "  return 
and  come  to  Zion  with  songs  and  everlasting  joy  upon 
their  heads."  But  here,  also,  is  the  Lord's  determination 
regarding  Christ's  own,  whom  he  redeems,  to  deliver 
them  from  external  oppression  and  sorrow.  The  whole 
family  of  G-od  shall  be  freed  from  weeping  and  sorrow ; 
for  their  Redeemer  is  mighty. 

God's  Israel  have  no  room  left  for  despair.  All  is 
bright  hope  for  the  future,  if  there  is  not  present  joy 
(ver.  54) ;  for  the  jubilee  is  near.  Each  believer  must, 
meanwhile,  wipe  away  the  other's  tears  and  bear  his 
brother's  burdens  (ver.  48)  ;  while  all  fix  an  eager  eye 
on  the  coming  day  of  God — "  the  year  of  the  redeemed." 

"  Make  haste,  my  beloved,  and  be  thou  like  to  a  roe, 
Or  to  a  young  hart,  upon  the  mountain  of  spices." 

Song  viii.  14, 


We  may  here  stay  a  little  to  observe  the  fact,  that  in 
the  description  of  millennial  days  given  in  this  chapter, 
the  negative  nature  of  the  blessedness  is  chiefly  insisted 
on  :  that  is,  that  there  shall  be  no  toil,  no  hard  labor,  no 
regrets  for  lost  possessions,  no  bondage,  no  oppression,  no 
poverty,  no  want. 

Now,  somewhat  of  the  blessedness  of  these  times  is 
spoken  of  under  the  typical  history  of  Israel  in  chap, 
xxvi.  But,  distinct  from  historical  types,  we  conjecture 
that  the  positive  nature  of  the  blessedness  of  these  days 
is  reserved  for  description  in  the  types  exhibited  by  Solo- 
mori's  temple.  It  appears  that  the  tabernacle  ivorship 
was  intended  chiefly  to  exhibit  Christ's  person  and  his 
work,   in   dying,  rising,   ascending,    interceding.      The 

20* 


S66     THE  SABBATIC  YEAE,   AND  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE. 

temple,^  besides  exhibiting  the  same,  adds  Christ  coming- 
again  and  reigning. 

Let  us  glance  at  this  difference.  The  ark,  from  the 
days  of  Moses  till  it  was  fixed  on  Mount  Zion  by  David, 
represents  Christ,  weary,  wandering  among  men,  until 
he  ascended  to  his  Father's  right  hand.  The  ark,  re- 
moved from  its  rest  on  Zion  to  the  magnificent  temple, 
represents  Christ  leaving  the  Father's  right  hand  to  take 
his  abode  in  the  new  earth — his  temple  and  kingdom — 
when  he  appears  as  Solomon,  "  Prince  of  Peace."  And 
then  in  that  temple  every  type  receives  some  expansion, 
or  some  change  to  a  more  splendid  shape — all  done  by 
express  Divine  direction,  as  we  find  declared  in  2  Chron. 
iii.  3,  and  other  places.  The  brazen  altar  was  greatly 
enlarged.  Instead  of  one  laver,  there  were  ten.  Instead 
of  one  candlestick,  there  were  ten ;  and  also  there  were 
ten  tables  for  the  show-bread,  as  we  saw  above.  The 
golden  altar  he  made  of  cedar  and  covered  it  with  gold. 
(1  Kings  vi.  20.)  He  made  two  additional  cherubim, 
very  large  and  beautiful ;  and  put  figures  of  cherubim  on 
the  great  veil.  Besides  all  this,  there  was  added  to  this 
temple  tivo  pillars,  of  finest  workmanship,  and  the  sea  of 
brass,  with  its  ten  bases  that  wheeled  along  the  temple 
floor,  conveying  the  water  easily  to  any  spot.  (See  p. 
154.)  Many  chambers,  too,  were  built  and  occupied, 
all  around  the  courts ;  and  the  floor  of  The  Holy  and 
Most  Holy  was  of  pure  gold,  like  the  streets  of  new  Je- 
rusalem. 

The  temple  was  finished  in  the  seventh  year,  and  in 
the  seventh  month,  at  harvest-time — the  time  of  joy. 
Is  there  not  here  a  shadowing  forth  of  millennial  fulness 

*  See  1  Kings  vi.,  vii.,  and  2  Chron.  iii.,  iv. 


CHAPTER  XXV.  467 

of  glory  ?  Is  not  the  scene  different  in  many  respects 
from  that  of  the  tabernacle  ?  1.  These  tall,  palm-like 
pillars,  with  their  rich  and  various  ornaments.  Do  not 
the  names  "  Jachin  and  Boaz"  declare  that  Jehovah'' s 
strength  shall  establish  this  place  forever?  (Compare 
Psalm  Ixxxvii.  1,  5.)  And  are  they  not  placed  in  these 
courts  as  trophies  of  victory  ?  They  may  be  reckoned  to 
be  trophies  erected  to  show  that  all  war  is  ended,  and  the 
Prince  of  Peace  is  triumphant.  2.  That  gold,  shining 
everywhere,  and  these  precious  stones,  and  these  harps 
and  psalteries,  made  of  the  algum-trees,  such  as  were 
never  seen  before  in  the  land  of  Judah.  Is  not  this  an 
indication  of  new  Jerusalem  times  ?  "  For  brass,  he  has 
brought  gold,  and  for  iron  silver."  (Isa.  Ix.  17.)  And 
these  instruments  of  music  send  forth  bursts  of  joy,  such 
as  are  heard  only  from  Zion's  "harpers,  harping  with 
their  harps."  (Rev.  xiv.  2.)  3.  Yonder  sea  of  brass, 
full  to  the  brim,  standing  on  oxen  that  look  north,  and 
south,  and  east,  and  west ;  its  full  water,  clear  and  pure, 
lavinsr  a  border  that  is  set  with  lilies.  Is  this  not  the 
emblem  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  showing  Christ  to  north, 
south,  east,  and  west,  filling  the  earth  "  as  the  waters 
cover  the  sea  ?"  (Isa.  xi.  9.)  Here  are  flowers  and  oxen  ; 
and  the  ten  bases  that  stand  by  are  bordered  with  lions, 
oxen,  palm-trees,  and  cherubim.  Is  this  not  an  emblem 
of  redeemed  men,  amid  the  trees  of  Eden  restored,  with 
lions  and  oxen  in  harmonious  fellowship  at  their  feet,  as 
Isa.  xi.  6,  7,  8,  foretells  ?  4.  These  cherubim  on  the 
walls,  and  on  the  great  veil.  Is  this  not  the  type  of  the 
redeemed  Church  dwelling  in  the  Lord's  presence,  revel- 
ling, so  to  speak,  in  the  mysteries  of  God  ?  There  were, 
it  appears,  cherubim  on  the  veil  on  its  inward  side,  to  in- 
dicate redeemed  men  freely  entering  into  the  holiest  of 


4:68     THE  SABBATIC  YEAE,  AND  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE. 


all.=^  5.  These  chambers  all  around.  The  *'  many 
mansions"  are  here.  6.  These  ten  candlesticks,  ten 
lavers,  ten  show-bread  tables,  ten  tables  for  the  slain 
sacrifices.  All  these  intimate  that  in  those  days  of  mil- 
lennial glory,  much  that  is  new  shall  be  discovered,  ten- 
fold light  will  be  cast  on  many  a  truth.  Yet  still,  the 
present  truths  are  the  elements  of  those  discoveries  to  be 
made  then.  Truth  revealed  now  shall  then  be  opened 
more  fully  on  the  view ;  grace  given  now  shall  then  be 
given  in  far,  far  richer  measure.  Oh !  blessed  times ! 
and  "  the  Grreater  than  Solomon"  in  the  midst,  "  telling 
plainly  of  the  Father"  (John  xvi.  25),  and  declaring  to 
his  redeemed,  "  Thou  art  all  fair ;  there  is  no  spot  in 
thee.  Thou  hast  ravished  my  heart,  my  sister,  my 
spouse."  Who  shall  be  able  to  stand  under  the  weight 
of  such  bliss  ?  The  Queen  of  Sheba  represents  some  of 
the  overwhelming  effects ;  not  one  remnant  of  self-com- 
placency left,  not  one  thought  of  self  at  all,  except  in  the 
form  of  shame  and  abasement. 

^'  Come  quickly,  Lord  Jesus."  Prepare  these  eyes  for 
seeing  the  King  in  his  beauty  ;  these  ears  for  hearing  the 
sound  of  blessed  voices  and  golden  harps  ;  these  feet  for 
the  golden  streets,  these  hands  for  the  palms  of  victory, 

*  We  fully  agree  with  those  who  consider  the  cherubim  everywhere  to 
be  symbols  of  the  redeemed  Church.  They  stand  on  the  ark,  i.  e.,  Christ ; 
their  feet  touching  the  blood  sprinkled ;  while  the  glory  of  God  is  over 
them,  and  they  see  it  reflected  in  the  golden  mercy-seat,  as  they  bend 
under  the  glory.  See  Candlish  on  Genesis ;  and  Fairbairn's  Typology.  So 
again;  there  were  cherubim  on  the  veil  (Exod.  xxvi.  31 ;  2  Chron.  iii.  14); 
and  the  veil  represented  Christ's  body  (Heb.  x.  20),  to  typify,  "  He  that 
sanctifieth  and  they  who  are  sanctified  are  all  of  one."  And  when  the  veil 
was  rent,  the  cherubim  were  rent,  thereby  showing  that  when  Christ  died, 
all  he  stood  for  also  died  (2  Cor.  v,  14).  They  were  "crucified  with 
Christ." 


CHAPTER  XX^.  469 

this  brow  (often  wet  with  the  sweat  of  the  curse)  for  the 
crown  of  righteousness ;  and  above  all,  this  heart  for 
loving  thee  who  lovedst  me  and  gavest  thyself  for  me ! 
In  that  day,  *'the  tongue  of  the  stammerers  shall  be  ready 
to  speak  plainly,"  while  with  all  saints  they  ever  speak 
of  the  King,  on  whom  they  gaze,  and  into  whose  image 
they  are  changed.  And  only  then  shall  every  faculty 
find  itself  satisfied  always,  and  yet  ever  bewildered  in  the 
blessed  attempt  to  understand  the  "  breadth  and  length, 
and  depth  and  height,  and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ 
that  passeth  knowledge."     Hallelujah  I 


^Bxnth  Cmpflral  3Dltsigmgs, 


IN  CONTRAST  TO  THE  CURSE. 


"but  seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  god  and  his  righteousness,  and  all 

THESE  THINGS  SHALL  BE  ADDED  UNTO  YOU." Matt.  vi.  33. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Rich  promises  of  temporal  blessing  to  Israel  form  the 
solemn  conclusion  to  the  full  declaration  made  through- 
out this  book  of  their  duty  and  privileges  in  things 
spiritual.  He  that  is  so  gracious  in  blessing  the  soul  is 
not  sparing  in  his  kindness  to  the  body.  And  while  all 
here  is  spoken  nationallj/,  yet  do  we  not  recognize  Him 
who  said  these  things  at  the  foot  of  Sinai,  speaking  in 
the  same  kind  tone  on  the  mountain  in  Galilee,  when  to 
every  disciple  he  promises,  "  Seek  first  the  kingdom  of 
Grod  and  his  righteousness,  and  all  these  things  shall  be 
added  unto  you  ?"  Oh  I  Israel,  our  Redeemer  is  your 
Jehovah  !  The  same  heart  yearns,  the  same  lips  move, 
at  Sinai,  and  in  G-alilee.  Oh  !  that  thou  hadst  hearkened 
to  his  commandments !  ''  then  had  thy  peace  been  as 
a  river'^ — like  thine  own  river  Jordan,  ever  flowing,  often 
overflowing — "  and  thy  righteousness  like  the  waves  of 
the  seaP     Like  thy  great  Western  Sea  with  all  its  waves, 


CHAPTER  XXVI.  471 

able  to  cover  over  all  thy  sins,  such  would  have  been  the 
righteousness  that  he  would  have  given  thee.  (Isa.  xlviii. 
18.)  And  then  all  other  things  would  have  followed. 
*'  Thy  seed  had  been  as  the  sand'^ — numerous  as  the 
countless  sands  of  that  wide  Mediterranean  Sea — ''  and 
the  offspring"  of  thy  bowels  like  the  gravel  thereof — filling 
thy  happy  land  ;  while  "  thy  name  should  not  have  been 
cut  off,  nor  destroyed  fro7n  before  him.''''  Oh !  Israel, 
return,  return  !     He  earnestly  remembers  thee  still. 

Vers.  1,  2.  "  Ye  shall  make  you  no  idols  nor  graven  image,  neither 
rear  you  up  a  standing  image,  neither  shall  ye  set  up  any  image 
of  stone  in  your  land,  to  bow  down  unto  it ;  for  I  am  the  Lord  your 
God.  Ye  shall  keep  my  Sabbaths,  and  reverence  my  sanctuary :  I 
am  the  Lord." 

The  Lord  alone  must  be  worshipped  (ver.  1),  and  He 
must  be  worshipped  as  he  requires  (ver.  2).  The  Lord 
seeks  our  whole  heart,  our  unaverted  eye,  our  entire  soul. 
''  No  idols  ;"  other  objects  that  sit  on  the  throne  of  our 
heart,  whether  of  silver  and  gold,  or  of  flesh  and  blood, 
or  of  earth's  common  objects,  like  houses  and  lands,  riches 
and  honor,  all  these  are  ci-^^^bx,  "  things  of  naught" — 
utterly  despicable  in  his  view.  "  Graven  images,"  and 
*'  standing  images,"  (or  pillars  like  obelisks,)  and  "  im- 
ages of  stone,"  (or  "  stones  of  imagery,''''  such  as  Ezekiel 
viii.  8,  describes) — all  these  are  wholly  abominable  to  the 
Lord.  Set  up  no  rival,  none  that  approaches  near  ;  not 
even  father  or  mother,  wife  or  child.  And  in  order  to 
cherish  this  state  of  soul,  his  Sabbaths  must  be  kept  and 
his  sanctuary  reverenced  ;  the  sinner  must  employ  him- 
self, amid  holy  scenes  and  at  holy  times,  in  bathing  his 
soul  in  the  love  of  God.  If  any  one  neglects  the  time  set 
apart  by  God  for  this  end — "  the  Sabbath'''' — how  can 
such  a  one  ever  expect  to  feel  steeped  in  the  holy  awe 


472  iseael's  temporal  blessings. 

and  love  that  is  due  to  the  Lord  ?  When  a  man  goes  to 
the  region  of  the  Alps,  he  requires  time  to  see  the  relative 
magnitude  of  objects  ;  he  does  not  at  one  glance  see  their 
immense  height  and  sublime  elevation.  It  is  often  days 
ere  he  arrive  at  a  proper  estimate,  because  he  is  now  in 
a  new  and  unwonted  region.  So  it  is  with  Divine  real- 
ities ;  you  must  spend  time,  continuously  and  uninter- 
ruptedly, in  order  to  have  your  soul  truly  affected.  In 
like  manner,  also,  tlie  sanctuary  must  be  frequented. 
It  is  the  Lord's  ordinance.  Would  you  have  refrained 
from  taking  the  fruit  of  the  forbidden  tree,  as  a  test  of 
obedience,  who  will  not  reverence  the  sanctuary  ?  Where 
is  your  childlike  submission  of  will  ?  Nay,  where  is 
your  love  to  your  Father,  if  you  go  not  to  the  spot  where 
he  meets  with  his  own  so  specially  ? 

All  declension  and  decay  may  be  said  to  be  beguu 
wherever  we  see  these  two  ordinances  despised — the 
Sabbath  and  the  sanctuary.  They  are  the  outward  fence 
around  the  inward  love  commanded  by  ver.  1. 

THE    BLESSING    HELD    OUT. 

Vers,  3,  4,  5,  6.  "  If  ye  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  keep  my  command- 
ments, and  do  them,  then  I  will  give  you  rain  in  due  season,  and 
the  land  shall  yield  her  increase,  and  the  trees  of  the  field  shall 
yield  their  fruit.  And  your  threshing  shall  reach  into  the  vintage, 
and  the  vintage  shall  reach  unto  the  sowing-time  ;  and  ye  shall  eat 
your  bread  to  the  full,  and  dwell  in  your  land  safely.  And  I  will 
give  peace  in  the  land,  and  ye  shall  lie  down,  and  none  shall  make 
you  afraid :  and  I  will  rid  evil  beasts  out  of  the  land,  neither  shall 
the  sword  go  through  your  land," 

The  Lord  made  Israel  "  Jeshurun^''  the  prosperous  one, 

blessing  him  with  all  temporal  things  whenever  Israel 

sought  the  spiritual.     It  was  a  scene  like  the  unfallen 

age.* 

*  Such  as  Hesiod  (Epya  k.  h^t^.  115)  fancies  to  have  been  in  the  golden 


CHAPTER   XXVI.  473 

Israel  was  offered  the  privilege  of  being,  even  in  respect 
of  temporal  blessings,  a  type  of  Eden  restored.  As  their 
ceremonies  and  institutions  were  to  the  world  a  type  of 
all  the  spiritual  blessings  which  Jesus  brings,  so  the  very 
aspect  of  their  land  might  have  been  the  type  of  the 
external  blessings  which  Jesus  brings  at  his  second 
coming  to  the  earth. 

In  Solomon's  days,  these  blessings  were  probably 
realized  more  fully  than  at  any  period  of  Israel's  history. 
His  were  the  times  of  peace,  so  peculiarly  typical  of 
Messiah's  reign  in  the  latter  day. 

Think  of  the  blessings  poured  out  to  their  view  here. 
The  sky  above  their  land,  pure  and  sapphire-blue  at 
other  times,  sends  down  needful  rains  at  the  proper  season 
with  such  regularity,  that  in  ver.  4  the  Hebrew  calls  them 
^^  your  rains''''  (c^^ti^rsi).  Would  they  not  learn,  by  every 
such  shower,  our  lessons  ?  "  Every  good  gift  and  every 
perfect  gift  is  from  above,  and  cometh  down  from  the 
Father  of  lights."  (Jas.  i.  17.)  Their  soil  scarcely  feels 
what  barrenness  means ;  "  it  yields  its  increase"  for  man 
and  beast — even  as,  when  the  curse  is  repealed,  we  shall 
sing  yet  more  fully  than  they,  "Let  all  the  people  praise 
thee ;  then  shall  the  earth  yield  her  increase."  (Ps. 
Ixvii.  6.)  The  trees  that  shade  their  dwellings,  or  stand 
thick  in  their  orchards,  give  abundant  fruit ;  figs,  dates, 
pomegranates,  grapes,  are  poured  into  their  lap  as  the 
season  returns.  Their  corn-fields  yield  so  plentifully, 
that  scarcely  can  the  husbandman  finish  his  labors  here 

age.  ^Acpveioi  ixrjAOKTi,  i^iXot  jiaKapecrai  Beotcrt.  Indeed,  Israel's  land  answers 
well  to  the  poetic  descriptions  of  that  time,  "flowing  with  vklk  and 
honey :" 

"  Flumina  jam  lactis  jam  fluraina  nectaris  ibant, 
Flavaque  de  viridi  stillabant  ilice  mella," 

(Ovid's  Met.  i.  111.) 


474  ISRAEL'S  TEMPORAL  BLESSINGS. 

before  the   vintage  calls  for  his  care ;  and  he  has  not 
ceased  the  cares  of  vintage  when  sowing-time  arrives. 

Israel  had,  at  least  in  Solomon's  days,  a  shadow  of 
what  is  coming  on,  "  Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the 
Lord,  that  the  ploughman  shall  overtake  the  reaper  ;  and 
the  treader  of  grapes  him  that  soweth  seed ;  and  the 
mountains  shall  drop  sweet  wine,  and  all  the  hills  melt." 
(Amos  xiii.  13.) 

And  lo  I  Israel  enjoys  the  very  fulness  of  bread  that 
Sodom  had  in  her  best  days ;  and  this  fulness  is  a  bless- 
ing, not  a  curse  to  Israel.     There  is  safety,  too ;  for  no 
foe   appears,   neither  is  there  disquiet  in  the  land.     No 
civil  broils,  no  domestic  quarrels,  no  heart-burnings.     No 
robbers  in  the  land  disturb  them  by  day  or  night ;  no 
fear  on  any  side.     How  like  the  time  when  men  "  shall 
beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares  and  their  spears  into 
pruning-hooks  !"     (Isa.  ii.  4.)     0  house  of  Jacob  !  come 
ye  and  walk  in  the  light  of  the  Lord,  and  this  shall  be 
yours  again.     And  "  evil  beasts^''  shall  cease  ;  the  great 
proof  of  the  land  returning  to  something  of  an  Eden-state, 
where  man  had  full  dominion  over  the  beasts  of  the  field  ; 
and  ^''710  sword'''  passes  through,  for  this  is  the  land  of 
the  Prince  of  Peace. 

Surely  Israel's  land   in  such  days  as   Solomon's  was 
intended  to  be  typical  of  the  earth's  millennial  rest  ! 

Vers.  7,  8,  9,  10.  "  And  ye  shall  chase  your  enemies,  and  they  shall 
fall  before  you  by  the  sword.  And  five  of  you  shall  chase  an 
hundred,  and  an  hundred  of  you  shall  put  ten  thousand  to  flight : 
and  your  enemies  shall  fall  before  you  by  the  sword.  For  I  will 
have  respect  unto  you,  and  make  you  fruitful,  and  multiply  you, 
and  establish  my  covenant  with  you.  And  ye  shall  eat  old  store, 
and  bring  forth  the  old  because  of  the  new." 

If  foes  invade  your  land,  they  shall  be  driven  back, 


CHAPTER  XXVI.  475 

and  so  easily  driven  back,  that  five  shall  put  a  hundred 
to  flight,  and  an  hundred  defeat  a  whole  host  of  ten 
thousand.  By  stating  the  foes'  defeat  in  this  form,  we 
are  led  to  understand  that  the  Lord  would  bless  their 
united  and  harmonious  efforts,  so  ih.a,t  five  united  would 
be  equal  to  twenty  of  the  foe,  and  ten^  to  a  thousand. 
They  act  together,  none  stands  aloof  from  the  other  ;^  and 
in  this  they  resemble  believers  asking  "  with  one  accord" 
(Acts  iv.  24),  and  obtaining,  in  return,  such  a  blessing 
that  the  place  is  shaken  with  the  Lord's  presence.  And 
in  millennial  days,  what  foe  shall  stand  before  men  who 
are  ''  as  the  angel  of  the  Lord  ?"  (Zech.  xii.  8.)  All  this 
shall  be  secured  to  them — fertility,  numerous  population, 
plentiful  produce,  so  that  last  year's  store  shall  not  be 
nearly  exhausted  before  this  year's  is  at  the  barn-door, 
seeking  to  be  lodged  in  the  granary.  Even  Egypt,  in 
the  seven  years  of  plenty,  could  scarcely  be  more  abun- 
dant. But  it  is  free  grace  that  bestows  these  blessings. 
"  I  shall  establish  my  covenant  with  you ;"  the  Lord 
engages  to  give  on  his  own  generous  terms,  terms  which 
we  may  judge  of  by  this  fact,  which  is  also  stated  here, 
that  his  covenant  itself  is  the  outflowing  of  free  love ; 
"  I  will  have  respect  unto  youP  Israel's  streams  of 
blessing  in  Solomon's  days,  as  well  as  the  floods  of  bless- 
ing yet  to  be  poured  out  in  coming  days,  are  all  free  and 
spontaneous,  unmerited  gifts  from  the  Lord's  love.  Oh, 
what  has  not  that  love  imparted  !  and  yet  how  unweari- 
edly  still  that  love  yearns  to  impart  more  and  more  I 

*  Joshua  xxiii.  10,  says,  "  One  man  of  you  shall  chase  a  thousand,"  and 
Deut.  xxxii.  80,  "How  should  one  chase  a  thousand,  and  two  put  ten 
thousand  to  flight  ?"  There  is  no  inconsistency ;  but  here  the  victory  is 
represented  as  given  to  a  cluster,  or  compact  band,  in  order  to  exhibit  the 
brotherly  union  of  those  days. 


476  ISRAEL'S  TEMPORAL  BLESSINGS. 

"Yers.  11,  12,  13.  "And  I  will  set  my  tabernacle  among  you:  and 
my  soul  shall  not  abhor  you.  And  I  will  walk  among  you,  and  will 
be  your  God,  and  ye  shall  be  my  people.  I  am  the  Lord  your 
God,  which  brought  you  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  that  ye 
shall  not  be  their  bondmen ;  and  I  have  broken  the  bands  of  your 
yoke,  and  made  you  go  upright." 

The  type  here  reaches  its  highest  point.  "  Behold  ! 
the  tabernacle  of  Grod  is  with  men,  and  he  will  dwell 
with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and  Grod  him- 
self shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God."  (Rev.  xxi. 
3.)  Solomon's  temple  in  all  its  glory,  and  Solomon  him- 
self there  in  all  his  wisdom,  formed  but  a  type  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace  when  he  shall  fulfil  that  portion  of  the 
prophetic  word.  But,  0  happy  Israel !  Who  is  like 
unto  thee  ?  Thou  hadst  the  foretastes  of  these  precious 
things.  Thy  God  dwelt,  by  his  cloud  of  glory,  among 
thy  tribes,  and  was  felt  to  be  present  throughout  all 
thy  borders.  And  there  yet  await  thee,  0  Jeshurun, 
happier  days  than  all,  when  thou  returnest  to  the  Lord ; 
for  then  the  antitype  of  all  these  shadows  shall  be  with 
thee.  The  Lord  Jesus,  on  the  transfiguration-hill,  was 
found,  at  the  close,  alone  (Mark  ix.  7,  8),  shining  with 
the  light  inaccessible.  And,  at  that  moment,  the  bright 
cloud,  which  was  no  other  than  the  cloud  that  rested 
over  Israel's  mercy-seat,  was  seen  hanging  over  him 
and  pointing  toward  his  person,  while  the  voice  of  the 
Father  cried,  ''  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am 
well  pleased  !"  Jesus,  then,  is  the  antitype  of  the  mercy- 
seat  that  was  in  Israel's  tabernacle ;  and  in  him,  there- 
fore, shall  the  glory  of  God  be  manifest  in  that  day 
when  Ezekiel's  words  are  fulfilled,  ''  My  tabernacle  shall 
be  with  them''^  (Ezek.  xxxvii.  27),  and  when  the  Lamb 
in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  lead  his  own  to  living 
fountains  of  water,  then,  too,  shall  he  wipe  all  tears  from 


CHAPTER  XXVI.  477 

their  eyes,  and  be  known  as  their  God;  even  as  in  type 
he  freed  Israel  from  bondage,  and  made  them  walk 
^^  upright,''''  i.  e.,  not  as  dejected,  burdened  men,  hanging 
their  heads  through  sorrow  of  heart,  but  as  freemen, 
walking  cheerfully  and  confidently  in  their  own  land. 

But  why  is  that  clause  inserted,  ^^And  my  soul  shall 
not  abhor  them  .^"  It  seems  thrown  in  on  purpose  to 
remind  Israel,  that  though  they  are  thus  favored,  they 
deserved  it  not.  This  store  of  blessing  is  all  free  grace. 
These  highly  favored  ones  were  once  "  cast  out  in  the 
open  field  to  the  loathing  of  their  persons.''''  For,  as  if 
to  explain  this  clause,  Ezekiel  (chap.  xvi.  5)  uses  the 
w^ords  that  are  used  here,  saying  of  them  that  they  were 
thrown  out,  like  unburied  carcasses,  on  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  "in  a  state  that  might  make  one  loathe  them" 
(b:?i;3  Tj^iJs?) ;  though  the  king,  in  wondrous  grace,  chose  to 
love  them,  saying,  "  My  soul  shall  not  loathe  thee"  {^^ 
^?^n).  His  redeemed  can  never  forget  whence  they  were 
taken,  and  yet  they  can  never  doubt  of  the  security  of 
their  state  now ;  he  that  had  mercy  on  them  can  never 
more  forsake  them.  His  spontaneous  love  is  their  ever- 
lasting assurance  of  security,,  when  it  shines  to  them 
through  the  tabernacle-veil — the  veil  of  the  Redeemer's 
flesh. 

THE    BLESSING    REJECTED. 

Vers.  14,  15.  "  But  if  ye  -will  not  hearken  unto  me,  and  will  not  do 
all  these  commandments ;  and  if  ye  shall  despise  my  statutes,  or 
if  your  soul  abhor  my  judgments,  so  that  ye  will  not  do  all  my 
commandments,  but  that  ye  break  my  covenant :  I  also  will  do  this 
unto  you."        *. 

The  curse,  or  judgments,  that  follow,  are  effects  of 
despising  the  blessing.  They  do  not  seem  intended  to 
exhibit  hell  in  all  its  aspects,  but  only  that  misery  which 


478  ISRAEL'S  TEMPORAL  BLESSINGS. 

arises  from  rejecting'  the  offers  of  grace.  Israel  needed 
to  be  warned  of  this  danger  in  special,  for  it  was  to 
characterize  their  history.  The  judgments  mentioned 
here  did  not  fall  on  Heathen  nations.  There  are  woes 
that  none  shall  ever  feel  except  men  that  might  have 
been  blessed  beyond  their  fellows.  Israel,  who  might 
have  had  such  continuance  of  unchanging  love  to  their 
souls,  and  such  millennial-like  blessings  to  their  land, 
suffer  punishment  beyond  other  men.  They  have 
become  the  most  emphatic  warning  that  can  be  given  to 
sinners,  to  beware  of  despising  offered  grace.  The  offer 
has  come  to  thee,  sinner — the  offer,  through  Christ's 
work,  of  present  salvation  and  future  glory. in  his  king- 
dom. Thou  must  accept,  and  be  blessed  above  other 
men  ;  or  thine  only  alternative  is,  thou  must,  in  rejecting 
it,  be  unspeakably  more  cursed  than  all  besides. 

THE  CURSE  UPON  REJECTERS  OF  THE  BLESSING. 

Vers.  16,  17.  "I  also  will  do  this  unto  you;  I  will  even  appoint  over 
you  terror,  consumption,  and  the  burning  ague,  that  shall  consume 
the  eyes,  and  cause  sorrow  of  heart  :*  and  ye  shall  sow  your  seed 
in  vain,  for  your  enemies  shall  eat  it.  And  I  will  set  my  face 
against  you,  and  ye  shall  be  slain  before  your  enemies :  they  that 
hate  you  shall  reign  over  you ;  and  ye  shall  flee  when  none  pur- 
sueth  you."     A  stroke  upon  their  persons. 

G-od's  majesty  cannot  suffer  wrong.  "We  cannot  slight 
his  proffered  gifts  without  exposing  our  souls  to  the 
severest  rebukes  of  his  anger.  The  majesty  of  his  love 
is  wronged  by  the  indifference  of  the  sinner,  and  the 
obstinate  rebellion  of  the  sinner.  Israel  was  made  to  feel 
this.  "  Terror, ^^  instead  of  calm,  serene  peace ;  ''  con- 
sumption and  ague,^^  instead  of  health  and  strength,  once 

*  The  form  nh^^a  ,  is  for  nia"'&<'ia. 


CHAPTER  XXVI.  479 

characteristic  of  the  people  of  the  God  of  Jeshurun ; 
blasted  hopes  and  labors,  defeated  armies,  foreign  gover- 
nors in  their  cities,  and  their  own  heart  sinking  in  hope- 
lessness. The  Lord  did  this  in  the  days  of  the  Judges  ; 
and  though  it  be  only  the  weakness  of  Israel,  and  their 
many  disasters,  that  are  recorded,  yet  I  think  we  may 
certainly  conclude  that  these  diseases — this  "  consump- 
tion and  burning  ague^"*  and  this  ''''terrof  —  were 
secretly  at  work  bringing  down  the  people's  strength  and 
courage.  When  the  prophet  tells  Eli,  from  the  Lord, 
*'  The  man  of  thine,  whom  I  shall  not  cut  off  from  mine 
altar,  shall  he  to  consume  thine  eyes  and  grieve  thy 
hearV  (1  Sam.  ii.  33),  he  is  using  language  which  Israel 
no  doubt  understood  as  a  reference  to  the  passage  before 
us.  What  is  meant  by  (Ps.  Ixxviii.  63)  "  The  fire  con- 
sumed their  young  men  ?"  May  these  plagues  be  meant 
in  part  ?  And  again,  after  the  first  captivity,  did  not  the 
many  diseases  in  our  Lord's  time,  correspond  to  the  "  dis- 
eases of  EgypV  in  Deut.  xxviii.  60  ?* 

The  Lord  appointed  these  judgments.  The  word  is 
•^nnjDEri,  the  same  as  in  Ps.  cix.  6,  "  Set  thou  a  wicked 
man  over  him,'^  and  the  same  as  in  Isaiah  Ixii.  6,  "  I 
have  set  watchmen  over  thy  walls,  0  Jerusalem."  The 
word  means,  that  a  charge  is  given  to  these  instruments 
to  execute  a  certain  purpose ;  they  are  appointed  to 
the  office  of  seeing  to  this  being  done.  In  our  Lord's 
time  these  plagues  surely  had  begun  ?  So  many  dis- 
eases in  so  healthy  a  land  ?  And  the  physician  came, 
offering  to  turn  back  the  begun  calamity,  and  showing 
his  power. 

*  It  might  be  inquired,  also,  if  "  the  evil  angels"  sent  on  the  Egyptians, 
Ps.  Ixxviii.  49,  may  not  have  been  the  same  as  the  devils  that  possessed 
the  demoniacs. 


480  ISRAEL'S  TEMPOEAL  BLESSINGS. 

Vers.  18,  19,  20.  "  And  if  ye  will  not  yet,  for  all  this,  hearken  unto  me, 
then  I  will  punish  you  seven  times  more  for  your  sins.  And  I  will 
break  the  pride  of  your  power ;  and  I  will  make  your  heaven  as 
iron,  and  your  earth  as  brass :  And  your  strength  shall  be  spent  in 
vain :  for  your  land  shall  not  yield  her  increase,  neither  shall  the 
trees  of  the  land  yield  their  fruits."     A  stroke  on  their  possessiojis. 

From  this  let  sinners  carefully  observe,  that  offers  of 
kindness  rejected,  after  warning  of  the  fatal  conse- 
quences, shall  be  followed  by  severer  strokes  of  wrath 
than  would  have  come  on  them  before.  Every  offer  of 
grace,  especially  if  accompanied  by  warning  as  to  the 
fatal  consequences  of  rejection,  brings  sevenfold  guilt  on 
the  rejecter. 

"  The  pride  of  your  poiuer^^''  may  mean  the  luxuriance 
of  their  land,  in  which  they  boasted  ;  or  if  it  mean  their 
power  as  a  mighty  people,  then  the  bringing  it  down 
refers  to  the  effects  of  famine  upon  the  resources  of  their 
kingdom.  "  Their  strength  is  spent  in  vain,"  when,  as 
in  Ahab's  days,  their  heaven  over  them  yields  no  rain, 
but  is  as  iron. 

Some  have  ascribed  the  present  sterility  of  Palestine  to 
want  of  cultivation.  But  this  verse  proves  that  there  is 
a  curse  besides.  It  is  here  declared  that  "  the  land  shall 
not  yield  her  increase,''^  even  if  tilled.  Nor  shall  "  the 
trees  of  the  land  yield  their  fruits^''''  even  if  cultivated ; 
so  that  it  is  not  only  because  not  carefully  attended  to 
that  the  palm  does  not  now  grow  luxuriantly  there,  and 
the  vines.  There  is  a  secret  curse  fallen  on  that  land 
that  rejected  mercy  and  despised  warning. 

Vers.  21,  22.    "  And  if  ye  walk  contrary*  unto  me,  and  will  not  hearken 

*  '''?h?  ^^  ^^^  ''^i^^j  ^^  ^^  occurs  ver.  24,  and  literally  it  would  be  render- 
ed, "  And  if  your  way  of  walking  with  me  be  '  contra  me,' "  "  in  opposition 
to  my  will."  (See  Rosenmiiller.)  Originally  *inp  would  be  a  noun,  q.  d., 
If  your  walk  be  a  "  going  counter  to,"  or  contradiction  of  me. 


CHAPTER  XXVI.  481 

tinto  me ;  I  will  bring  seven  times  more  plagues  upon  you  accord- 
ing to  your  sins.  I  will  also  send  wild  beasts  among  you,  which 
shall  rob  you  of  your  children,  and  destroy  your  cattle,  and  make 
you  few  in  number :  and  your  highways  shall  be  desolate."  A  stroke 
upon  their  children  and  cattle. 

New  calamities  come,  because  of  new  provocations. 
Oh,  unbelieving  soul,  every  new  offer  pressed  home  on 
thee  by  warnings,  and  yet  rejected,  adds  to  thy  con- 
demnation, and  draws  out  another  arrow  from  the  Lord's 
quiver ! 

Instead  of  man's  original  lordship  over  the  creatures, 
lo  !  the  beasts  of  the  field  rise  up  against  rebellious  man. 
This  strange  foe  advances  to  their  dwellings ;  and  the 
cattle  grazing  before  their  door,  and  their  little  children 
playing  on  the  grass,  are  devoured  before  their  eyes  by 
this  new  assailant.  The  cockatrice,  and  serpents  that 
will  not  be  charmed  (Jer.  viii.  17),  bite  their  little  ones, 
destroying  the  type  that  Israel's  land  presented  of  the 
time  when  "  the  weaned  child  should  put  his  hand  on  the 
cockatrice-den"  (Isa.  xi.  8).  The  leopard  watches  his 
opportunity ;  the  evening  wolf  ravages  the  flock ;  and 
the  bear  tears  what  he  finds  within  his  reach ;  the  lion 
springs  on  his  prey. 

It  must  have  appeared  singular  that  in  a  land  so  fully 
peopled  as  Palestine  was  in  the  days  of  the  kings,  there 
should  be  so  often  notices  of  wild  beasts  roaming  among 
them — bears  from  the  forests  of  Bethel  (2  Kings  ii.  24), 
and  lions  on  the  highway  between  Bethel  and  Judah  (1 
Kings  xiii.  24).  But  it  is  evident  that  their  existence  in 
so  densely  a  peopled  land  was  somewhat  miraculous  ;  it 
was  by  Divine  appointment.  It  was  to  keep  Israel  in 
mind  of  this  passage  of  the  law ;  and  whenever  wild 
beasts  multiplied,  they  were  to  see  herein  a  proof  that 
they  had  advanced  far  onward  in  rebellion,  this  being  the 

21 


482  ISRAEL'S  TEMPORAL  BLESSINGS. 

third  stage  of  the  Lord's  wrath.  And  hence  Judah 
could  read  the  indignation  of  the  Lord  in  the  lions  of 
Samaria  (2  Kings  xvii.  26),  and  tremble  at  the  progress 
of  wrath.  So  Jer.  ii.  15  may  refer  to  this — the  roaring 
and  yelling  of  young  lions  in  the  desolate  cities  of  Sa- 
maria. 

Vers.  23,  24,  25.  "  And  if  ye  will  not  be  reformed  by  me  by  these 
things,  but  will  walk  contrary  unto  me ;  then  will  I  walk  contrary 
unto  you,  and  will  punish  you  yet  seven  times  for  your  sins.  And 
I  will  bring  a  sword  upon  you  that  shall  avenge  the  quarrel  of  my 
covenant," 

The  sword  goes  through  the  land  !  Instead  of  peace 
and  safety,  the  blood  of  Israel  is  shed  by  violent  hands. 
The  blood  that  ratified  their  covenant  with  Grod  had  been 
despised ;  therefore,  lo  !  their  own  blood  must  be  shed  to 
avenge  the  broken  covenant. 

Ver.  25.  "  And  when  ye  are  gathered  together  within  your  cities,  I  will 
send  the  pestilence  among  you  ;  and  ye  shall  be  delivered  into  the 
hand  of  the  enemy." 

Pestilence  and  plague  ravage  their  cities.  Thinking 
to  escape  the  sword  of  the  invader,  they  betake  them- 
selves to  fenced  cities ;  and  defy  the  enemy.  But  the 
Lord  scales  their  walls  and  leads  in  his  troops,  viz.,  the 
pestilence  with  all  its  horrors.  The  raging  pestilence 
soon  weakens  the  hands  of  the  defenders  of  their  cities, 
and  opens  the  gates  to  the  foe.  "  Know,  then,  that  it  is 
an  evil  and  a  bitter  thing  to  depart  from  the  Lord." 

Ver.  26.  "  And  when  I  have  broken  the  staff  of  your  bread,  ten  women 
shall  bake  your  bread  in  one  oven,  and  they  shall  deliver  you  your 
bread  again  by  weight :  and  ye  shall  eat,  and  not  be  satisfied." 

Famine  follows  pestilence !  So  scarce  is  food  now, 
that  instead  of  each  family  having  its  own  oven,  one  oven 


CHAPTER  XXVI.  483 

suffices  for  ten  families,  and  the  quantity  given  to  each 
is  scrupulously  weighed,  and  none  receive  enough  to 
satisfy  their  hunger.  When  Judah  felt  these  horrors  of 
famine  in  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Babylonians 
(Jer.  xxxviii.  9),  they  might  know  assuredly  that  the 
Lord's  arrows  were  coming  fast  from  his  quiver. 

Vers.  27,  28,  29,  30,  31,  32,  33.  "And  if  ye  will  not  for  all  this 
hearken  unto  me,  but  walk  contrary  unto  me ;  then  I  will  walk 
contrary  unto  you  also  in  fury ;  and  I,  even  I,  will  chastise  you 
seven  times  for  your  sins.  And  ye  shall  eat  the  flesh  of  your  sons, 
and  the  flesh  of  your  daughters  shall  ye  eat.  And  I  will  destroy 
your  high  places,  and  cut  down  your  images,  and  cast  your  carcasses 
upon  the  carcasses  of  your  idols,  and  my  soul  shall  abhor  you.  And 
I  will  make  your  cities  waste,  and  bring  your  sanctuaries  unto  des- 
olation, and  I  will  not  smell  the  savor  of  your  sweet  odors.  And  I 
will  bring  the  land  into  desolation :  and  your  enemies  which  dwell 
therein  shall  be  astonished  at  it.  And  I  will  scatter  you  among  the 
heathen,  and  will  draw  out  a  sword  after  you :  and  your  land  shall 
be  desolate,  and  your  cities  waste." 

"  Behold  I  their  house  is  left  unto  them  desolate  !" 
He  is  an  awfully  holy  and  an  infallibly  true  God ! 
He  did  do  all  that  is  threatened  here.  And  as  assuredly 
as  he  did  these  things,  so  shall  he  assuredly  kindle  the 
flames  of  an  unquenchable  fire  for  the  unbelieving  and 
often-warned  man.  G-ospel-hearer,  this  picture  of  the 
Lord's  strict  truth  is  terribly  severe  on  you.  For  this 
shall  be  thy  doom.  "J,  even  /,  shall  chastise  seven 
times .'"  Oh !  this  is  the  work  of  a  long-suffering  God. 
"  I  will  walk  contrary  to  you  in  fury  .'"*  This  is  the 
wrath  of  the  Lamb  !  Israel  felt  this  fury.  In  the  siege 
of  Jerusalem  by  the  Babylonians,  of  which  the  siege  of 
Samaria  in  former  days  was  a  feeble  prototype,  mothers 
eat  their  children,  according  to  Lamentations  iv.  10,  and 

*  The  Hebrew  is  peculiar,  'i^j^-n^gha.  "  in  the  fury  of  opposition,"  or 
contrariety.    See  i-nj^^  note,  page  480. 


484  iskael's  temporal  blessings. 

in  their  final  siege  by  Titus,  the  same  scene  of  horrid 
and  terrific  despair  was  exhibited.  It  seems  a  type  of 
what  shall  take  place  in  hell — all  natural  ties  forever 
broken;  and  nearest  relations  approaching  and  accusing 
and  tormenting  each  other,  finding  no  other  food  but  to 
upbraid  others  with  their  ruin. 

The  li2:htnino:  of  G-od's  wrath  struck  down  their  hio^h 
places  and  idolatrous  images  ;  not  a  vestige  of  these  can 
be  found  by  any  traveller.  As  for  the  worshippers,  they 
perished  with  the  "  carcasses,"  or  brokenimages  of  their 
gods — a  type  of  hell  again  !  For  there  the  sinner's  idols 
shall  be  seen  to  be  forever  ruined  and  destroyed ;  and 
yet  the  sinner's  memory  rolls  over  and  over  upon  past 
scenes  that  only  cause  him  torment. 

Their  cities  lie  waste  at  this  day,  and  their  "  sanc- 
tuaries," i.  e.,  their  temple  with  its  courts,  and  there  are 
no  sweet-smelling  offerings  presented  to  the  Lord  in 
Judah's  land.  No  one  can  discover  more  than  the  mere 
foundation  of  ancient  edifices,  and  few  even  of  these. 
Jerusalem' s  walls  and  temple  exist  only  in  fragments  of 
foundation-stones ;  Bethel  is  a  field  scattered  over  with 
demolished  walls;  Samaria's  foundations,  and  a  few  of 
her  shattered  columns,  are  all  the  remainder  of  former 
glory.  No  one  has  found  Tirzah.  Hundreds  of  ruined 
towns  can  be  discovered  by  the  name  still  lingering  over 
the  ruins,  but  by  that  alone.  Shiloh  is  now  Seilwan, 
and  presents  no  dwelling  or  town,  but  only  a  few  ruins. 
Lebo7iah,  now  Khan  Leban,  has  a  well  for  watering 
flocks  at  noon,  and  two  or  three  dwellings  near.  Kir- 
jathjearimj  now  Karieh,  is  a  beautiful  village,  but  its 
pomegranates  and  olives  shade  no  more  than  a  dozen 
dwelUngs.  Beersheba  has  its  well  still,  and  plentiful 
water,  but  is  no  more  a  city.     Jericho,  now  Riha,  has 


CHAPTER  XXVI.  485 

some  mud  houses  near  the  spring  that  Elisha  sweetened  ; 
and  this  is  all  that  remains  of  the  city  of  palm-trees. 
Libnah  and  Lachish  and  Maresha,  famous  in  the  wars 
of  Judah,  are  not  to  be  found  even  in  name.  Hazor^ 
famous  as  a  northern  citadel,  has  only  lately  been  found 
by  Dr.  Keith,  bearing  the  name,  but  possessing  no  more 
than  a  few  remnants  of  an  ancient  fortress.  Capernaum^ 
Bethsaida^  and  Chorazin^  are  not  truly  ascertained. 
8arepta  is  a  little  village  called  Sarfand,  on  a  hillside, 
overlooking  the  sea-shore,  whereon  its  stately  mansions 
once  more  built.  Zebulon^  now  Abilene^  is  but  a  village ; 
and  Cana  a  very  small  one.  Even  peopled  cities  that  do 
remain  boast  of  few  thousands ;  Jerusalem  has  its  twenty 
thousand  ;  Hebron  its  ten  ;  Sychar^  its  ten — and  this,  or 
such  like,  is  all  that  the  cities  of  Judah  and  of  Israel 
yield  !  '•'•  True  and  righteous  are  thy  judgments,"  0 
Lord  God  of  Israel. 

The  land  is  desolate.  The  plains  of  Jezreel  and  Sharon 
lie  nearly  untilled.  Every  traveller  wonders  at  large 
spaces  of  rich  soil  left  to  lie  fallow.  Enemies  occupy 
their  inheritance,  and  destroy  it — yet  once  "  The  kings 
of  the  earth  would  not  have  believed  that  the  adversary 
should  have  entered  into  the  gate  of  Jerusalem."  (Lam. 
iv.  12.) 

And  poor  Israel  wanders  over  every  country  and  king- 
dom on  the  face  of  the  earth — "  scattered  and  peeled." 
And  while  the  Lord  still  pities  them,  he  "  abhors  them" 
(ver.  30)  for  their  sin,  as  "  in  the  day  when  they  were 
cast  out  into  the  open  field,"  though  he  still  loveth  the 
nation  for  their  fathers'  sake  (ver.  44).  On  that  open 
field  they  are  cast  again,  to  the  loathing  of  their  person ! 
Who  is  there  that  knows  not  this  to  be  the  fate  of  Israel  ? 
Not  a  word  has  fallen  to  the  ground. 


486  ISRAEL'S  TEMPORAL  BLESSINGS. 

Vers.  84,  35,  36,  3*7,  38,  39.  "  Then  shall  the  land  enjoy  her  sabbaths, 
as  long  as  it  lieth  desolate,  and  ye  be  in  your  enemies'  land  ;  even 
then  shall  the  land  rest,  and  enjoy  her  sabbaths.  As  long  as  it  lieth 
desolate  it  shall  rest ;  because  it  did  not  rest  in  your  sabbaths,  when 
ye  dwelt  upon  it.  And  upon  them  that  are  left  alive  of  you  I  will 
send  a  faintness  into  their  hearts  in  the  lands  of  their  enemies ;  and 
the  sound  of  a  shaken  leaf  shall  chase  them :  and  they  shall  flee,  as 
fleeing  from  a  sword ;  and  they  shall  fall  when  none  pursueth.  And 
they  shall  fall  one  upon  another,  as  it  were  before  a  sword,  when 
.  none  pursueth :  and  ye  shall  have  no  power  to  stand  before  your 
enemies.  And  ye  shall  perish  among  the  heathen,  and  the  land  of 
your  enemies  shall  eat  you  up.  And  they  that  are  left  of  you  shall 
pine  away  in  their  iniquity  in  your  enemies'  lands  ;  and  also  in  the 
iniquities  of  their  fathers  shall  they  pine  away  with  them." 

So  full  and  obviously  are  verses  34,  35,  fulfilled,  that 
Dr.  Keith  quotes  Bowring's  Report  of  the  Commercial 
Statistics  of  Syria,  1840,  which  says,  "  Regions  of  the 
highest  fertility  remain  fallow." 

Some  adopt  Houbigant's  view  that  the  Jews  had  never 
kept  the  Sabbatic  year  from  the  days  of  Saul  till  the 
captivity,  a  space  of  four  hundred  and  ninety  years, 
giving  seventy  Sabbatic  years.  But  there  is  no  authority 
for  this  singular  assertion  regarding  the  neglect  of  the 
Jews ;  nay,  2  Kings  xix.  29  and  Jer.  xxxiv.  17  are  suffi- 
cient to  show  that  these  seasons  were  observed. 

The  sin  of  Israel  lay  in  their  manner  of  keeping  Sab- 
bath-days and  Sabbath-years.  Their  Grod  was  not 
honored ;  they  did  not  give  spiritual  service.  They 
also  turned  the  observance  of  the  seasons  appointed  into 
times  of  pleasure — riding  in  their  chariots,  probably,  and 
giving  themselves  to  amusements.  But  the  reference 
chiefly  is  to  cases  of  such  neglect  occurring,  not  to  the 
continuance  of  it  so  long  a  time  as  seventy  years.  Nay, 
their  land  lies  desolate  still  for  that  same  sin.  Men  shall 
suffer  if  they  keep  not  God's  way.  Your  land  ''  shall  atone 


CHAPTER  XXVI.  487 

for  her  Sabbaths"  (Gesenius).^  Alas !  our  land  seems 
near  its  day  of  doom  !  Incessant  movement  of  men  over 
its  breadth  and  length !  Where  is  the  rest  ?  But  so  it 
shall  be  as  the  time  draws  near  wherein  the  Sabbath  of 
earth  shall  arrive,  when  the  disturbers  of  its  rest  are 
brought  to  silence. 

The  unwarlike,  timid,  feeble  state  of  the  Jews  in  every 
land  fulfils  vers.  36,  37.  The  word  '^'^b  implies  timidity 
and  softness  of  spirit,  unable  to  bear  up  against  trouble, 
and  showing  a  cowardice  under  their  oppressions  very 
different  from  the  mighty  warriors  of  Israel  in  the  days 
of  their  fathers.  Easily  alarmed,  and  so  alarmed  that, 
like  men  in  hasty  flight,  "  they  fall  on  one  another." 
The  Jews  never  can  resist,  and  never  try  to  resist,  their 
foes :  they  suffer  and  complain,  and  their  cries  spread 
over  the  earth. 

History  tells  (as  ver.  38)  how  many  have  perished  in 
the  enemies'  land ;  and  how  miserably  they  have  spent 
their  days,  degraded  and  oppressed.  Their  own  sin  and 
their  fathers'  has  been  broken  Sabbaths,  and  the  rejection 
of  the  Saviour,  the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath.  For  is  there 
not  a  hint  given  us  of  this  in  the  "  iniquities  of  their 
fathers  .^"  Is  not  the  cry,  "  His  blood  be  on  us  and  on 
our  children'''  included  here  ?  Oh  !  how  like  the  comfort- 
less, heart-sickening,  hopeless  state  of  the  lost  are  these 
poor  Israelites,  "  without  Grod  and  without  hope,"  be- 
cause "without  Christ."  Shall  it  always  be  thus? 
"  Turn  their  captivity,  0  Lord,  like  the  streams  of  the 
south !" 

And  let  us  Grentiles  fear  sin  even  when  only  imputed. 
*'  Our  father"  Adam's  sin  lies  on  us  ;  besides  the  sins  of 

*  The  Septuagint  uses  the  expression  "  evSoKrjcsi  h  y^  ra  aal30aTa ;"  as  if 
resting  with  delight  over  the  Sabbatic  stiUness. 


488  ISKAEL'S   TEMPORAL   BLESSINGS. 

our  fathers  in  this  land.     "  Lord,  wash  me  thoroughly." 
(Ps.  li.  2.) 

Israel's  restoration. 

Ver.  40.  •  "  If  they  shall  confeas  their  iniquity  and  the  iniquity  of  their 
fathers,  with  their  trespass  which  they  trespassed  against  me." 

Hear,  0  Israel !  Does  this  not  call  thee  to  consider 
thy  unbelief?  Is  there  nothing  calling  thee  to  "look  on 
Him  whom  thy  fathers  pierced  ?"  What  are  ' '  thy  father^  s 
sins  .^" 

Vers.  40,  41,  42,  43,  44,  45.  "  And  that  also  they  have  walked  con- 
trary unto  me ;  and  that  I  also  have  walked  contrary  unto  them, 
and  have  brought  them  into  the  land  of  their  enemies  ;  if  then  their 
uncircumcised  hearts  be  humbled,  and  they  then  accept  of  the  pun- 
ishment of  their  iniquity  :  then  will  I  remember  my  covenant  with 
Jacob,  and  also  my  covenant  with  Isaac,  and  also  my  covenant  with 
Abraham  will  I  remember ;  and  I  will  remember  the  land.  The 
land  also  shall  be  left  of  them,  and  shall  enjoy  her  sabbaths,  while 
she  heth  desolate  without  them  :  and  they  shall  accept  of  the  punish- 
ment of  their  iniquity :  because,  even  because  they  despised  my 
judgments,  and  because  their  soul  abhorred  my  statutes.  And  yet 
for  all  that,  when  they  be  in  the  land  of  their  enemies,  I  will  not 
cast  them  away,  neither  will  I  abhor  them,  to  destroy  them  utterly, 
and  to  break  my  covenant  with  them :  for  I  am  the  Lord  their  God. 
But  I  will  for  their  sakes  remember  the  covenant  of  their  ancestors, 
whom  I  brought  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  in  the  sight  of  the 
heathen,  that  I  might  be  their  God :  I  am  the  Lord." 

"  I  am  Jehovah  ;"  therefore,  he  remembers  his  cove- 
nant with  Abraham.  As  he  manifested  that  name  on 
the  first  Exodus  (Exod.  vi.  3),  though  for  a  long  time 
before  he  showed  only  his  all-sufficiency^*  so  shall  he 
manifest  it  by  his  acts  at  the  final  Exodus  of  Israel  from 
all  the  lands  of  their  dispersion. 

Here  we  have,  so  to  speak,  a  permanent  fact,  or  truth, 

*  The  name  "i-niij  ^j{ . 


CHAPTEE  XXVI.  489 

on  which  to  rest  the  proof  of  Israel's  restoration  to  their 
own  land.  It  is  this  :  the  covenant  with  their  fathers 
contained  a  grant  of  the  land ;  and  the  God  of  Israel  is 
Jehovah.  Whenever  Israel  serves  the  Lord,  Israel  obtains 
all  that  that  grant  contains.  ''  If  they  confess,"  then, 
lo  !  they  must  return  home  also.  Israel's  repentance 
and  Israel's  restoration  to  their  old  estates  go  together. 
When,  as  in  Micah  vii.  9,  the  Jews  confess  and  accept, 
or  admit  as  righteous,  what  they  suffer,  then  their  resto- 
ration is  at  hand.  It  is  true,  they  may  return  before 
they  repent ;  but  the  land  is  not  theirs  until  they  repent. 
And  I  think  this  is  the  meaning  of  Ezekiel  xxxvi.  37. 
*'  I  shall  yet  for  this  be  inquired  of  by  the  house  of 
Israel,  to  do  it  for  them."  It  is  Israel's  prayer  to  the 
Lord,  when  repentant,  to  settle  them  in  their  land  and 
restore  to  the  land  its  fruitfulness.  See  the  whole 
chapter. 

Yer.  42  is  very  remarkable  in  the  Hebrew.  It  is 
literally,  "  I  will  remember  my  covenant,  Jacob,"  &c. 
There  is  no  "  witli^''  May  God  not  be  speaking  here  to 
these  patriarchs  whose  God  He  is  at  this  moment,  and 
saying,  "  I  will  remember  my  covenant,  0  Jacob,  made 
with  thee !  and  my  covenant,  0  Isaac,  with  thee ;  and 
I  will  remember  my  covenant,  0  Abraham,  with  thee, 
and  the  land  wherein  thou  wast  a  stranger  ?"  The  land, 
too,  wherein  his  own  Son  was  a  Man  of  Sorrows,  can 
that  land  ever  be  forgotten  ?  The  cross  was  there  ;  shall 
not  the  throne  be  there  too  ? 

Ver.  43  repeats  the  cause  why  there  ever  was  desola- 
tion at  all,  and  how  long  it  is  to  continue.  In  ver.  44, 
the  first  words  r.XT  ca  r|5<i ,  "  Yet  for  all  that,"  should 
rather  be,  "  Yea,  moreover,  I  shall  do  this." — (Rosen- 
miiller.)     This  is  the  renewed  declaration  of  the  Lord's 

21* 


490  iseael's  tempoeal  blessings. 

determination  to  restore  them :  and  hence,  some  of  the 
German  Jews  who  are  fond  of  conceit,  mark  this  word 
t>,i<,  as  "  The  golden  AffP 

All  is  done  in  free  love.  It  is  covenant-mercy.  "  Sal- 
vation to  Him  that  sittth  on  the  throne,  and  to  the 
Lamb  I" 

Ver.  46.  "  These  are  the  statutes  and  judgments  and  laws,  ■which  the 
Lord  made  between  him  and  the  children  of  Israel  in  Mount  Sinai 
by  the  hand  of  Moses." 

He  seeth  the  end  from  the  beginning.  He  knew  the 
kind  of  people  whom  he  had  chosen.  For  see,  at  the 
foot  of  Sinai,  he  speaks  in  this  prophetic  strain,  warning 
them  of  what  he  sees  coming  on.  He  knew  their  hearts  ; 
he  did  not  choose  them  for  their  worthiness ;  he  mani- 
fested grace  in  them.  From  Sinai  he  looks  down  the 
stream  of  ages  and  sees  their  sin,  and  yet  goes  forward 
to  manifest  his  love  and  make  them  the  objects.  "  There 
is  none  like  the  Grod  of  Jeshurun." 


f  ntirt  Draatifltt  tn  (0n!t, 

INDUCED   BY   THE   FOREGOING   VIEWS   OF   HIS 
CHARACTER. 


"  TE    ARE    NOT   YOUR   OWN,  FOR    YE  ARE  BOUGHT  "WITH  A  PRICE  ;   THEREFORE 

GLORIFY    GOD   IN  YOUR  BODY  AND  IN  YOUR  SPIRIT,  WHICH  ARE  GOd's." 1  COF. 

vi.  19,  20 


CHAPTEE  XXVII. 

Vers.  1,2.     "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying.  Speak  unto  the 
children  of  Israel,  and  say  unto  them." 

The  connection  of  this  concluding  chapter  with  all  the 
preceding  has  been  considered  a  difficulty  with  many. 
But  most  obviously  the  connection  is  that  oi  feeling.  No 
wonder  God  takes  up  the  subject  of  self-dedication  and 
the  devoting  of  all  that  a  man  has  ;  for  might  not  any 
one  expect  that  the  preceding  views  given  to  God's  mind 
and  heart  would  be  constraining  ?  We  find  in  Scripture, 
that  the  link  of  connection  between  one  narrative  and 
another  often  lies  in  the  feelings  understood  to  be  pro- 
duced in  the  reader  of  the  story,  or  feelings  likely  to 
arise.  Thus,  in  Mark  xi.  25,  "  When  ye  stand  prayings 
forgive^  if  ye  have  aught  against  any^''  is  suddenly 
introduced;  but  on  being  examined,  the  reason  turns 
out  to  be,  that  that  feeling  of  ill-will  to  others  is  one  of 
the  hindrances  to  the  prayer  of  faith  which  our  Lord  was 


492  ENTIRE   DEVOTION   TO   GOD. 

anxious  to  lead  them  to.     So,  also,  the  feast  of  Levi  to 
Christ,   and  the    question   of  John's    disciples    and   the 
Pharisees   about  fasting,  is   placed  by  two    Evangelists 
just  after  Levi's  conversion,  though  Matthew  shows  that 
it  occurred  at  the  time  Jairus  came.     The  link  of  connec- 
tion is,  Christ  exhibited  as  a  Saviour  for  sinners,  apart 
from  all  ceremonial  observances,  led  the  mind  to  go  out 
in  the  direction  of  occurrences  that  bore  upon  that  point. 
In  this  chapter,  after  the  Lord  has  unfolded  his  system 
of  truth,  the  impression  left  on  every  true  worshipper  is 
supposed  to  be,  "  What  shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord  for 
all  his  benefits  ?"     As  Paul,  after  unfolding  the  way  of 
life  and  righteousness  in  the  first  eleven  chapters  of  Ro- 
mans, begins  at  chap.  xii.  1  to  address  his  readers,   "  I 
beseech   you,  therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God, 
that  ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  accep- 
table unto  G-od,  which  is  your  reasonable  service."      For 
true  has  it  ever  been,  that    "  the    grace  of   God   that 
bringeth  salvation"  is  grace  that  ^'teaches  ws"  to  deny 
ungodliness,  and  to  be  a  peculiar  people.     (Titus  ii.  12.) 
Indeed,  we   might  almost  venture  to  say,  that  Micah  vi. 
8,  was  uttered  in  this  very  feeling,  and  with  a  view  to 
these  very  ordinances — ''  He  hath  showed  thee^  O  man, 
what  is  good^''  in  these  sacrifices  and  ordinances  that  are 
full  of  grace  and  truth  ;  and  now,  if  thou  askest  how  the 
grateful  feelings  of  thine  accepted  soul  are  to  be  met,  lo ! 
here  is  provision  made  for  their  outpouring:   "  What  does 
the   Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love 
mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God  ?"      So  far  as 
w^e  do  not  give  to  God  this  recompense  of  a  life  thank- 
fully devoted  to  him,  we  cannot  but  cry  with  Ephraim 

SvrUS      "  T«Aaj^(^cu  Tov   t^ov    ^lov    on   dc/Qr]aiog   ^Tra^j^ei."    "  I 

pronounce  my  life  wretched,  because  it  is  unprofitable." 


CHAPTER  XXVII.  493 

Vers.  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8.  "  "When  a  man  shall  make  a  singular  vow, 
the  persona  shall  be  for  the  Lord  by  thy  estimation.*  And  thy 
estimation  shall  be  of  the  male  from  twenty  years  old  even  unto 
sixty  years  old,  even  thy  estimation  shall  be  fifty  shekels  of  silver, 
after  the  shekel  of  the  sanctuary.  And  if  it  be  a  female,  then  thy 
estimation  shall  be  thirty  shekels.  And  if  it  be  from  five  years 
old  even  unto  twenty  years  old,  then  thy  estimation  shall  be  of  the 
male  twenty  shekels,  and  for  the  female  ten  shekels.  And  if  it  be 
from  a  month  old  even  unto  five  years  old,  then  thy  estimation 
shall  be  of  the  male  five  shekels  of  silver,  and  for  the  female  thy 
estimation  shall  be  three  shekels  of  silver.  And  if  it  be  from  sixty 
years  old  and  above ;  if  it  be  a  male,  then  thy  estimation  shall  be 
fifteen  shekels,  and  for  the  female  ten  shekels.  But  if  he  be  poorer 
than  thy  estimation,  then  he  shall  present  himself  before  the  priest, 
and  the  priest  shall  value  him ;  according  to  his  ability  that  vowed 
shall  the  priest  value  him." 

All  agree  that  the  meaning  of  "  making  a  singular 
vow''''  is  vowing  something  extraordinary,  singling  out 
something  very  valuable,  and  setting  it  apart  for  God.t 
To  vow  that  a  child,  or  a  youth,  or  a  person  in  mature 
years,  should  be  the  Lord's,  this  surely  was  a  vow  beyond 
ordinary. 

"  By  thy  estimation.''''  Michaelis  thinks  that  Moses 
is  meant,  who  as  civil  magistrate  determined  the  rule  ; 
but  it  rather  seems  to  mean,  ''  according  as  it  shall  be 
estimated,  or  valued,  among  you."  The  community  of 
Israel  had  their  general  rules  on  such  subjects,  and  these 
are  to  be  taken. 

The  rate  is  the  same  for  persons  of  all  ranks.     ''  To 

*  The  word  for  "  estimation"  is  tl'^^'.  It  is  interesting  to  notice,  that 
from  the  same  root  comes  i^'-isj  ^^N,  "mine  equal" — a  man  estimated  as 
I  myself.     See  Psalm  Iv.  15,  Christ's  words  concerning  Judas. 

f  It  is  the  same  "word  as  used  in  Ps.  iv.  3,  where  the  Lord  is  said  to  set 
apart  the  godly  one.  And  how  beautiful  to  observe,  that  the  consequence 
of  being  set  apart  is  protection.  "  The  Lord  will  hear  when  I  call."  A3 
the  priest  would  run  to  preserve  any  dedicated  vessel  from  being  broken, 
or  spoilt,  so  here. 


494  ENTIRE  DEVOTION  TO   GOD. 

the  poor  the  Gospel  is  preached."  The  rich  and  wealthy 
have  no  place  here  above  the  poor ;  all  stand  as  sinners 
to  be  redeemed  by  the  same  blood,  and  bound  by  the 
same  cords  of  love. 

Bush  remarks,  ''  The  rules  of  mortality  are  the  prin- 
ciples on  which  these  rates  are  graduated."  Hence, 
those  in  the  prime  of  life  are  first  noticed  ;  and  of  these 
the  males,  being  capable  of  most  service,  are  rated  high- 
est. It  appears  to  me  clear  that  Jephtha's  daughter 
(Judg.  xi.  30)  may  come  under  this  rule.  Her  father 
vowed  to  dedicate  to  the  Lord  (ver.  31)  when  he  should 
return  victorious — thinking,  probably,  of  some  of  his  do- 
mestic comforts  and  luxuries — "  whatsoever  cometh  from 
the  doors  of  my  house."  Jephtha's  daughter,  like  young 
Samuel,  was  simply  set  apart  personally  to  the  Lord  ; 
and  the  clause  "  /  ivill  offer  it  as  a  hurnt-offering ^'' 
should  be  understood,  as  many  have  rendered  it,  "  I  will 
ofier  also  to  hini^  a  burnt-offering,"  as  if  to  say,  I  will 
load  his  altar  with  many  gifts  of  thanksgiving.  Heng- 
stenberg  ("  Egypt,  and  Books  of  Moses")  supports  the 
opinion  that  there  was  an  institution  of  holy  women  in 
the  tabernacle,  who,  like  Hannah  the  Prophetess,  spent 
their  time  in  prayer  and  fasting.  At  all  events,  Exod. 
xxxviii.  8,  and  1  Sam.  ii.  22,  ought  to  be  rendered,  "  The 
women  who  ministered  at  the  gate  of  the  tabernacle,"  the 
word  being  x^^.  Just  as  in  Num.  iv.  23,  35,  43,  when 
speaking  of  the  Levites.     The  Midianites,  Numb.  xxxi. 

*  Several  critics  have  pointed  out  similar  instances  of  the  suffix  so  used. 
Thus,  Judg.  i.  15,  ^St^ns,  "Thou  hast  given  to  me"  Isa.  xlii.  16;  Jer,  xx. 
7 ;  Ezek.  xxix.  3  ;  Micah  v.  4.  The  principle  laid  down  in  ver.  11,  would, 
of  itself,  be  sufficient  to  prevent  the  sacrifice  of  Jephtha's  daughter.  In 
Romaine's  works  there  is  a  view  given  of  the  matter,  substantially  the 
same  as  this,  which  states  the  reasons  against  the  sacrifice  at  great  length. 


CHAPTER  XXVII.  495 

40,  were  women  (ver.  35),  and  were  set  apart  for  the 
Lord. 

There  seems  to  me  a  mistake  generally  fallen  into  here 
by  commentators.  They  suppose  that  these  shekels  of 
money  were  paid  in  order  to  free  the  offerers  from  the  ob- 
ligation of  devoting  the  person.  Now,  surely  the  whole 
chapter  is  speaking  of  things  truly  devoted  to  God,  and 
cases  of  exchange  and  substitution  are  referred  to  in  vers. 
10,  13,  15.  As  for  persons  devoted^  there  was  no  substi- 
tution allowed.  The  mistake  has  arisen  from  supposing 
that  this  amount  of  money  was  ransom-money  ;  whereas 
it  was  an  addition  to  the  offering  of  the  person,  not  a 
substitution.  If  a  person  is  really  to  be  dedicated  to  the 
Lord,  then  let  him  give  this  external,  visible  declaration 
of  it.  Let  him  bring  these  shekels  of  money,  according 
to  his  age,  in  token  of  his  having  given  up  the  world  and 
devoted  himself  to  Grod.  Hence,  Jephtha's  daughter 
could  not  be  redeemed  ;  she  is  the  Lord''s,  and  there  is  no 
alienation  of  his  property. 

"What  do  we  learn  from  this  ?  Let  us  remember  how 
it  is  written  that  the  price  of  a  slave,  gored  to  death,  is, 
in  Exod.  xxi.  32,  reckoned  at  thirty  shekels ;  and  how, 
in  Zech.  xi.  12,  the  same  price  is  weighed  for  the  prophet 
in  his  typical  character ;  and  then,  in  Matt.  xxvi.  15, 
paid  for  Jesus.  If  such  was  the  manner  of  snaking  over 
a  slave  to  another,  have  we  not  here  the  manner  of 
making  over  persons  to  the  Lord  ?  But  the  Lord  gives 
no  price  for  them.  True ;  because  the  Lord  is  not  the 
gainer.  It  is  a  privilege  to  be  taken  into  the  Lord's  ser- 
vice ;  and  the  man  is  therefore  represented  here  as  buying 
his  admission  into  the  Lord's  service.  It  is  all  to  show 
how  precious  is  the  Lord's  service  !  Men  often  sacrifice 
a  large  sum  in  order  to  get  a  servant  to  do  their  work ; 


496 


ENTIRE  DEVOTION  TO  GOD. 


but  lo !  it  is  reversed  here.     We  might  well  sacrifice  all 
we  have  in  order  to  be  permitted  to  serve  the  Lord. 

Oh  !  it  is  no  common  blessedness  to  be  allowed  to 
stand  in  thy  presence  and  worship  thee.  Lord  God  Al- 
mighty ! 

Vers.  9,  10,  11,  12,  13.  "And  if  it  be  a  beast,  -whereof  men  bring  an 
offering  unto  the  Lord,  all  that  any  man  giveth  of  such  unto  the 
Lord  shall  be  holy.  He  shall  not  alter  it,  nor  cliange  it,  a  good  for 
a  bad,  or  a  bad  for  a  good :  and  if  he  shall  at  all  change  beast  for 
beast,  then  it  and  the  exchange  thereof  shall  be  holy.  And  if  it  be 
any  unclean  beast,  of  which  they  do  not  offer  a  sacrifice  unto  the 
Lord,  then  he  shall  present  the  beast  before  the  priest,  and  the 
pridfet  shall  value  it,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad :  as  thou  valuest  it, 
■who  art  the  priest,  so  shall  it  be.  But  if  he  will  at  all  redeem  it 
then  he  shall  add  a  fifth  part  thereof  unto  thy  estimation." 

When  Jephtha's  heart  was  full  of  gratitude  in  antici- 
pation of  the  answer  to  his  prayer,  he  devoted  whatever 
should  meet  him  as  he  rode  homo  victorious ;  so  another 
man  in  his  review  of  his  flocks  and  herds  observes  the  re- 
markable kindness  of  the  Lord  to  him  therein,  and  upon 
this  devotes  one  of  his  flock  and  of  his  herd  to  the  Lord. 
That  beast  is  '*  holy  to  the  Lord"  ever  after.  He  may 
have  fixed  upon  a  favorite  animal,  in  the  heat  of  the 
moment,  the  best  ewe  in  his  flock,  but,  if  so,  he  must  not 
"  change  nor  alter ^'' — i.  e.,  neither  substitute  for  it  a  ram, 
nor  resort  to  the  expedient  of  giving  a  greater  offering, 
such  as  an  ox.  His  original  purpose  is  to  stand.  If  at 
the  time  he  devoted  the  best^  then  he  will  see  what  the 
impulse  of  true  gratitude  ought  still  to  lead  him  to ;  and 
if  he  devoted  an  inferior  animal,  he  may  perhaps  look 
back  calmly  now  and  see  his  sinful  grudging  of  Grod.  If, 
however,  the  man  were  (ver.  10)  to  draw  back  from  his 
first  purpose  and  substitute  another,  still  the  Lord  will 
claim  the  animal  originally  devoted.     He  will  follow^  the 


CHAPTER   XXVII.  497 

original  ewe,  as  well  as  the  ram  put  in  its  place,  with  his 
eye,  and  write  on  both  "  Holy  to  the  Lord."  The  Lord 
would  have  us  increase  in  gratitude,  never  decline ;  he 
would  teach  us  to  regret  nothing  that  we  give  to  Grod, 
but  count  it  all  joy.  Nay,  he  teaches  us  that  the  more 
than  ordinary  excited  feelings  of  our  hearts  at  particular 
seasons  are,  after  all,  the  most  just  and  fit  for  the  bene- 
fits rendered.  Our  highest  feelings  are  never  wrong  in 
their  intensity,  when  Grod  is  the  object ;  it  is  our  cooler 
and  lower  moods,  our  more  calculating  and  grudging 
frames. 

If  a  grateful  man  happened  to  devote  one  of  his  camels 
or  asses,  then  the  value  of  that  must  be  offered ;  for  the 
animal  cannot  be  sacrificed  (ver.  12).  And  the  man  is 
not  himself  to  judge  of  the  value ;  but  the  estimate  is  to 
be  made  by  the  priest — "  As  thou,  0  priest,  vainest  it," 
thou  who  actest  for  thy  God,  and  not  for  thyself.  The 
matter  is  now  in  Grod's  hands,  not  any  more  in  man's. 

If,  however,  it  turned  out  to  be  a  favorite  horse  or 
camel,  the  man  might  wish  to  retract.  The  value  he  set 
on  these  was  rather  more  than  he  would  like  to  state  to 
the  priest,  who  took  all  into  consideration  in  estimating 
the  greatness  of  the  gift.  Or,  because  anxious  to  keep 
his  silver  and  gold,  he  might  propose  substituting  another 
animal — one  that  was  of  the  clean  sort.  He  might  do  so. 
But  in  such  cases,  the  animal  he  substituted  must  be 
taken  with  this  addition,  a  fifth  part  of  the  value  of  the 
original  gift.  This  retraction  and  wish  to  alter  shows 
some  coldness  in  the  man — it  indicates  decline  from  his 
former  state  of  high  feeling  and  true  gratitude.  As  he 
walked  amid  his  possessions  with  his  friend  last  evening, 
his  heart  swelled  with  thankful  joy  at  the  sight  of  God's 
love — but  this  morning,  that  intense  feeling  is  decayed, 


498  ENTIRE  DEVOTION"  TO   GOD. 

and  so  he  rather  grieves  that  he  vowed  so  precious  an  ob- 
ject. This  is  decline ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  treated  some- 
what like  a  trespass.  In  all  the  trespass-offerings,  one 
fifth  was  given  as  a  mulct,  or  fine,  in  addition  to  the 
restitution  made.  So  in  this  case.  And  thus  the  Lord 
teaches  again  that  he  abhors  any  going  back.  He  ob- 
serves and  he  hates  any  failure  in  former  zeal  and  love. 

Vers.  14, 15.  "  And  when  a  man  shall  sanctify  his  house  to  be  holy  unto 
the  Lord,  then  the  priest  shall  estimate  it,  whether  it  be  good  or 
bad :  as  the  priest  shall  estimate  it,  so  shall  it  stand.  And  if  he 
that  sanctifieth  it  will  redeem  his  house,  then  he  shall  add  the  fifth 
part  of  the  money  of  thy  estimation  unto  it,  and  it  shall  be  his." 

The  ^'  sanctify  in  ^^^  is  the  same  as  setting  apart  by  a 
vow.  The  case  is  supposed  of  an  Israelite  whose  heart 
is  full  of  gratitude  for  family  mercies,  or  perhaps  who  has 
escaped  perils  and  returned  to  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  his 
vine  and  fig-tree.  Sitting  in  the  bosom  of  his  family, 
feeling  security  and  peace,  he  is  prompted  to  cry,  "  What 
shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord  for  all  his  benefits  ?"  Under 
this  impulse,  he  devotes  the  house  to  the  Lord. 

If  his  gratitude  cool,  then,  as  in  ver.  13,  there  is  notice 
of  this  taken,  and  provision  made  accordingly. 

Vers.  16,  Vl,  18,  19,  20,  21.  "  And  if  a  man  shall  sanctify  unto  the  Lord 
some  part  of  a  field  of  his  possession,  then  thy  estimation  shall  be 
according  to  the  seed  thereof:  an  homer  of  barley-seed  shall  be 
valued  at  fifty  shekels  of  silver.  If  he  sanctify  his  field  from  the 
year  of  jubilee,  according  to  thy  estimation  it  shall  stand.  But  if 
he  sanctify  his  field  after  the  jubilee,  then  the  priest  shall  reckon 
unto  him  the  money  according  to  the  years  that  remain,  even  unto 
the  year  of  jubilee,  and  it  shall  be  abated  from  thy  estimation.  And 
if  he  that  sanctified  the  field  will  in  any  wise  redeem  it,  then  he 
shall  add  the  fifth  part  of  the  money  of  thy  estimation  unto  it,  and 
it  shall  be  assured  to  him.  And  if  he  will  not  redeem  the  field, 
or  if  he  have  sold  the  field  to  another  man,  it  shall  not  be  redeemed 


CHAPTEK  XXVII.  499 

any  more.  But  the  field,  when  it  goeth  out  in  the  jubilee,  shall  be 
holy  unto  the  Lord,  as  a  field  devoted ;  the  possession  thereof  shall 
be  the  priest's." 

The  fields  of  some  Boaz  are  waving  their  crops  under 
an  evening  breeze,  in  the  cool  of  the  day ;  luxuriance  is 
smiling  around  from  every  heavy  ear  on  its  stalk.  The 
possessor  feels  that  the  Lord  has  "  dropt  down  fatness." 
Looking  up  to  the  All-sufficient  One,  who  has  freely 
bestowed  all,  he  vows  that  one  of  these  fields  shall  be  the 
Lord's,  or  some  portion  of  one  of  them  shall  be  so  set 
apart.  And  he  must  select  the  portion  out  of  his  patri- 
mony— his  '•^  possession^^^  or  lot,  descended  to  him  from 
his  fathers. 

What  required  (ver.  16)  an  homer  of  barley-seed  to 
sow  it,  was  to  be  valued  at  fifty  shekels  of  silver.  This 
was  to  be  the  standard  measure ;  so  that  a  man  could 
easily  see  the  extent  of  his  own  gratitude,  and  be  able 
to  test  himself,  lest  he  should  vow  away  some  inferior 
portion  of  the  soil.  And  to  prevent  a  man  secretly  re- 
flecting on  the  time  of  the  Jubilee,  and  so  appearing  to 
make  a  very  liberal  vow,  while  in  fact  the  nearness  of 
the  Jubilee  might  be  rendering  it  very  small,  the  priest 
is  to  consider  this  element  of  value  also.  On  the  other 
hand  (ver.  18),  the  land  is  not  to  be  undervalued,  if  a 
man  have  so  large  and  wide  a  heart,  and  gratitude  so 
warm,  as  to  devote  a  field  to  the  Lord  from  the  time  of 
one  Jubilee  on  to  the  next.  The  Lord  does  not  overlook 
differences  in  men's  views  and  purposes  ;  ''  Thou,  most 
upright,  dost  weigh  the  path  of  the  just."  (Isa.  xxvi. 
7.)  The  widow's  mite  and  Mary's  ointment  are  precious 
in  his  sight :  and  so  are  David's  and  Solomon's  munificent 
gifts. 

But,  as  in  a  former  case,  gratitude  might  cool,  after 


500  ENTIRE  DEVOTION  TO  GOD. 

the  moment  (ver.  19) ;  and  hence  permission  is  given 
to  redeem  the  field  under  the  penalty  of  paying  one-fifth, 
as  in  the  trespass-offering,  to  show  that  the  person  has 
sinned  in  thus  retracting.  His  highest  feelings  were 
right ;  this  abatement  is  sinful.  Just  as  running  the 
race  at  full  speed  is  the  proper  state  of  one  seeking  the 
prize  ;  anything  that  sinks  below  full  speed  is  a  fault. 
(1  Cor.  ix.  24.) 

If  left  unredeemed,  according  to  his  vow,  it  shall  be 
the  Lord's  forever.  If  the  unredeemed  field  be  sold*  by 
the  priest  to  another,  the  original  possessor  cannot  at  a 
future  time  claim  any  right  to  redeem  it.  He  must  not 
have  liberty  to  reverse  the  acts  and  feelings  of  former 
years.  What  we  do  for  the  Lord  must  be  done  in  the 
foresight  of  all  the  consequences  ;  and  it  well  befits  us  to 
give  up  anything  of  ours  to  the  Lord  forever.  Our 
dealings  with  God  are  dealings  for  eternity.  There 
should  be  no  temporizing  on  our  part  in  his  matters.  He 
gives  "  eternal  redemptions''^  "  everlasting  consolation.''^ 

Vers.  22,  23,  24.  "  And  if  a  man  sanctify  unto  the  Lord  a  field  which 
he  hath  bought,  which  is  not  of  the  fields  of  his  possession ;  then  the 
priest  shall  reckon  unto  him  the  worth  of  thy  estimation ;  even  unto 
the  year  of  the  jubilee  :  and  he  shall  give  thine  estimation  in  that 
day,  as  a  holy  thing  unto  the  Lord.  In  the  year  of  the  jubilee  the 
field  shall  return  unto  him  of  whom  it  was  bought,  even  to  him 
to  whom  the  possession  of  the  land  did  belong." 

This  relates  to  the  cases  of  tenants,  not  of  possessors. 
A  man  who  had  bought  a  field  until  the  Jubilee  could 
not  alienate  it  forever  ;  it  was  only  one  who  had  patri- 
mony that  could  do  this.     We  must  give  the  Lord  what 

*  The  construction  seems  to  warrant  this  sense ;  "  If  he  do  not  redeem  the 
field,  and  if  he  sell  it  (i.  e.,  if  he  who  is  now  its  owner,  viz.,  the  priest,  sell  it) 
to  another r 


CHAPTER  XXVII.  501 

is  our  own  ;  not  what  is  borrowed.  Willing  self-denial 
is  taught  us  by  such  acts  ;  we  give  the  Lord  something 
that  we  feel  the  value  of ;  and  the  loss  of  which  would 
grieve  us,  were  not  the  Lord  to  be  the  receiver.  What- 
ever goes  to  the  Lord  is  given  to  us. 

Ver.  25.     "  And  all  thy  estimations  shall  be  according  to  the  shekel  of 
the  sanctuary :  twenty  gerahs  shall  be  the  shekel." 

The  law  of  the  sanctuary  is  to  regulate  all.  Full 
weight  is  sought  for ;  but  neither  superfluity  nor  abate- 
ment. God  loves  a  perfect  balance  and  a  just  weight. 
We  do  not  know  whether  or  not  there  was  a  standard 
measure  kept  in  the  sanctuary  ;  but  it  is  very  probable. 
Some,  indeed,  render  the  words,  "  shekel  of  IwlinessP 
i.  e.,  a  true  shekel ;  still  it  is  every  way  likely  that  the 
other  is  the  true  meaning,  admitting  that  this  rendering 
be  right.  There  was  probably  a  standard  measure  kept 
in  the  sanctuary,  by  which  all  other  weights  and  meas- 
ures were  regulated.  Here  would  be  a  type  to  Israel  of 
the  Lord's  justice.  Here,  in  the  sanctuary  of  Jehovah, 
they  found  the  source  and  regulating  measure  of  all 
dealings  in  business  between  man  and  man,  and  of  all 
similar  dealings  between  Grod  and  man,  through  his 
priests.  Would  not  this  standard  measure  be  felt  to  be 
a  type  of  the  Lord's  original  attribute  of  righteousness  ? 
He  it  is  that  judges;  He  it  is  that  fixes  what  is  right 
and  what  is  wrong ;  He  it  is  to  whom  all  Israel  must 
come  to  have  thought  and  action  weighed.  May  not  1 
Sam.  ii.  3  refer  to  this  ?  Hannah's  eye  had  rest  on  this 
standard  measure,  and  so  she  sings,  "  By  him  actions 
are  weighed ." 

Who  shall  stand  before  this  holy  G-od  ?     He  perceives 
what  is  wanting,  the  moment  he  has  adjusted  his  bal- 


502  ENTIRE   DEVOTION  TO   GOD. 

ances.  He  detects  the  want  of  faith  in  Cain  at  the  altar ; 
of  true  godly  zeal  in  Jehu's  heart;  of  love  in  Ephesus; 
of  life  in  Sardis  ;  of  oil  in  the  five  virgins  ;  of  the  v^edding 
garment  in  the  speechless  guest.  He  judges  according  to 
the  real  weight — not  the  apparent.  He  judges  "  accord- 
ing as  the  loork  has  been,"  not  according  as  the  show 
has  been.     (1  Cor.  v.  10,  and  Rev.  xx.  12,  xxii.  12.) 

Vers.  26,  27,  28,  29,  "  Only  the  firstling  of  the  beasts,  which  should  be 
the  Lord's  firstling,  no  man  shall  sanctify  it;  whether  it  be  ox,  or 
sheep ;  it  is  the  Lord's.  And  if  it  be  of  an  unclean  beast,  then  he 
shall  redeem  it  according  to  thine  estimation,  and  shall  add  a  fifth 
part  of  it  thereto :  or  if  it  be  not  redeemed,  then  it  shall  be  sold 
according  to  thy  estimation.  Notwithstanding  no  devoted  thing 
that  a  man  shall  devote  unto  the  Lord  of  all  that  he  hath,  both  of 
man  and  beast,  and  of  the  field  of  his  possession,  shall  be  sold  or 
redeemed :  every  devoted  thing  is  most  holy  unto  the  Lord.  None 
devoted,  which  shall  be  devoted  of  men,  shall  be  redeemed  ;  but 
shall  surely  be  put  to  death." 

Here  are  two  opposite  cases  ;  one  wherein  there  is  a 
prohibition  against  devoting  the  thing  to  the  Lord  at  all ; 
the  other  wherein  there  is  a  prohibition  against  going 
back  in  the  slightest  degree  from  the  full  devotion. 

Firstlings  were  already  the  Lord's  ;  therefore,  it  would 
be  mockery  to  devote  them  again — specially,  the  first- 
lings of  all  clean  beasts.  The  firstlings  of  unclean  beasts, 
however,  were  so  far  in  a  different  position — they  were 
the  Lord's,  but  yet  they  could  not  be  offered  on  his 
altar.  Hence,  they  might  be  vowed  away ;  but  on  the 
understanding  that  they  were  to  be  redeemed.  Since 
they  were  not  to  be  offered  up  as  sacrifices,  they  were 
redeemed  at  their  birth;  and  now  again  being  vowed 
away  to  the  Lord,  they  are  again  redeemed ;  a  price  is 
given  for  them.  But  a  fifth  is  added  thereto,  to  show 
that  there  was  something  of  the  nature  of  a  trespass  in 


CHAPTER  XXVII.  503 

the  man  fixing  upon  that  unclean  firstling.  It  was  like 
attempting  to  make  the  double  use  of  one  thing.  "We 
must  not  so  do  with  Grod.  True  love  and  gratitude  will 
always  pour  out  new  streams  and  full  streams. 

On  the  btherhand,  ''  a  thing  devoted^^  that  is,  a  thing 
that  was  more  than  vowed  and  set  apart,  a  thing  that 
was  d-^n,  doomed — devoted  to  destruction — must  in  no 
case  be  redeemed.  The  beast,  at  Sinai,  that  touched  the 
mountain,  would  be  fi'^.ti,  doomed.  The  fields  of  Gilboa, 
wet  with  the  blood  of  Saul  and  Jonathan,  were  devoted 
by  King  David,  2  Sam.  i.  21.  Ahab  was  told  by  the 
Lord  that  Benhadad  was  doomed.*  Such  were  the 
Canaanites,  also ;  such  was  Jericho  in  special  (Josh.  vi. 
17),  with  all  its  spoil,  and  hence  the  awful  aggravation 
of  Achan's  sin.  He  was  attempting  to  appropriate  what 
the  Lord  had  demanded  for  the  flames  of  his  wrath ;  he 
sought  to  pull  out  of  the  fire  the  things  which  God  had 
pat  on  that  fire  to  be  fuel  to  its  flame.  Hence,  also, 
Saul's  sin  as  to  Agag,  whom  the  Lord  doomed  to  utter 
ruin  ;t  he  sought  to  pull  Agag  from  hell,  or  at  least  from 
under  the  sword  of  divine  justice  that  was  drawn  against 
the  man  here. 

In  all  cases  of  this  kind,  it  is  the  Lord  who  devotes,! 
not  man.  The  case  of  Samuel's  mother,  and  of  Jephtha's 
— the  one  devoting  a  son,  the  other  a  daughter — are  not 
at  all  of  the  kind  meant  here.  This  including  instance 
is  the  most  solemn  of  all,  a  case  where  the  Lord  exercises 
his  sovereignty  in  fixing  upon  whom  he  will  and  what  he 

*    la^n  tt5*>&«  (1  Kings  XX.  42). 

\  1  Sam.  XV.  3,  the  word  tDnia^nm, 

X  It  is  quite  a  mistake  to  render  ver.  29,  "  devoted  by  men ;"  it  is 
"  from  among  men"  D^xn  "j^.  The  Septuagint  has  it  "  ctn-o  tC^v  dvOpuinuv," 
not "  ino." 


V 


504  ENTIRE  DEVOTION  TO  GOD. 

will,  out  of  a  fallen  and  already  cursed  earth,  to  bear  the 
stroke  of  wrath  in  sight  of  all  men.  The  case  of  the 
fields  of  Gilboa  is  not  against  this  view :  for  David 
spoke  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.  How  awful  the 
truth  contained !  "  What  will  you  do  in  the  day  of 
visitation  ?  To  whom  will  ye  flee  for  help  ?"  0  Agag  ! 
it  is  too  late  to  speak  of  mercy  ;  the  Lord  has  pronounced 
thy  doom.  There  is  no  reversion — no  redemption — no 
alteration — no  change — no  possibility  of  paying  a  com- 
mutation-price now.  You  are  devoted  !  All  is  over  for- 
ever. ''''None  doomed  shall  he  redeemed  V*  You  pro- 
voked the  Lord  to  anger,  and  this  is  your  latter  end. 
See  Matt.  xvi.  26.  "  What  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange 
for  his  soul  ?" 

Vers.  30,  31,32,  33.  "And  all  the  tithe  of  the  land,  whether  of  the 
seed*  of  the  land,  or  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree,  is  the  Lord's :  it  is  holy 
unto  the  Lord.  And  if  a  man  will  at  all  redeem  aught  of  his  tithes, 
he  shall  add  thereto  the  fifth  part  thereof.  And  concerning  the 
tithe  of  the  herd,  or  of  the  flock,  even  of  whatsoever  passeth  under 
the  rod,  the  tenth  shall  be  holy  unto  the  Lord.  He  shall  not  search 
whether  it  be  good  or  bad,  neither  shall  he  change  it :  and  if  he 
change  it  at  all,  then  both  it  and  the  change  thereof  shall  be  holy ; 
it  shall  not  be  redeemed." 

What  Abraham  gave  to  Melchizedec,  and  Jacob  vowed 
at  Bethel,  has  ever  appeared  most  natural  for  men  to  set 
aside  for  the  Lord  regularly — the  tenth  of  all.  Among 
the  Israelites,  there  were  several  kinds  of  tithe,  and  yet 
all  cheerfully  paid ;  the  tenth  for  the  Lord,  paid  to  the 
Levites  (Num.  xviii.  21),  and  the  next  tenth,  consecrated 
and  feasted  on  at  Jerusalem,  or  given  away  to  the  poor. 
(Deut.  xii.  6,  and  xxviii.  29.) 

*  Such  as  corn — whatever  is  used  in  the  shape  of  seed ;  unlike  the  juicy 
pomegranate,  and  fig,  and  grape. 


CHAPTER  XXVII.  505 

Seed  or  fruit  might  be  redeemed ;  and  there  might  be 
good  reasons  for  a  man  wishing  to  redeem  this  part  of 
the  tithe.  He  might  require  to  sow  his  field,  and  be  in 
need  of  the  seed  of  dates  or  pomegranates  to  replenish  his 
orchard.  Therefore,  permission  is  given  to  redeem  these, 
though  still  w4th  the  addition  of  a  fifth,  in  order  to  show 
that  the  Lord  is  jealous,  and  marks  anything  that  might 
be  a  retraction,  on  the  man's  part,  of  what  was  due  to 
the  Lord.  He  may  redeem  this  tithe,  but  it  is  done  cum 
nota.  As  to  the  tithe  of  herd  and  flock,  this  is  not 
allowed.  The  owner,  or  the  Levite  whose  office  it  was 
to  tithe,  held  a  rod  in  his  hand  and  touched  every  tenth 
animal  as  it  happened  to  come  forward.  (Jer.  xxxiii. 
13.)  Whatever  passes  under  the  rod,  good  or  bad,  was 
tithed  and  taken,  inalienably.  The  Lord  does  not  seek  a 
good  animal,  where  the  rod,  in  numbering,  lighted  on  a 
bad  as  the  tenth  passed  by  ;  neither  does  he  admit  of  the 
substitution  of  an  inferior  animal,  if  the  rod  has  lighted 
on  the  best  in  the  whole  flock.  He  seeks  just  what  is 
his  due,  teaching  us  strict  and  holy  disregard  of  bye-ends 
and  selfish  interests. 

And  thus  this  book — this  Pictorial  Gospel  of  the  Old 
Testament — ends  with  stating  G-od's  claims  on  us,  and 
his  expectation  of  our  service  and  willing  devotedness. 
As  the  first  believers  at  Pentecost,  rejoicing  in  pardon 
and  the  love  of  Grod,  counted  nothing  dear  to  them,  nor 
said  that  aught  they  possessed  was  their  own,  so  ought 
we  to  live.  We  must  sit  loose  from  earth  ;  and  true  love 
to  our  Redeemer  will  set  us  loose.  This  giving  up  of 
our  possessions  at  God's  call,  teaches  us  to  live  a  pilgrim 
life,  and  that  is  an  Abrahamic  life — nay,  it  is  the  life  of 
faith  in  opposition  to  sight. 

The  whole  of  this  concluding  chapter  has  been  leading 

22 


506 


ENTIRE  DEVOTION  TO   GOD. 


US  to  the  idea  of  giving  to  the  Lord  all  we  have.     It  has 

been  making  us  familiar  with  the  idea,  and  by  example 

inculcating  the  practice  of  like  devotedness.    Grod  should 

be  all  in  all  to  us ;  he  is  ''!?^"^5<,  "  God  all-sufficient." 

Let  us  part  even  with  common,  lawful  comforts,  and  try 

if  He  alone  be  not  better  than  all.     Like  the  child  with 

the  stalk  of  grapes,  who  picked  one  grape  after  another 

from  the  cluster,  and  held  it  out  to  her  father,  till,  as 

affection  waxed  warm  and  self  faded,  she  gaily  flung 

the  whole  into  her  father's  bosom,  and  smiled  in  his  face 

with  triumphant  delight ;  so  let  us  do,  until,  loosening 

from  every  comfort,   and    independent  of  the    help  of 

broken  cisterns,  we  can  say,  ''  I  am  not  my  own  !    Whom 

have  I  in  heaven  but  thee  ?  and  there  is  none  upon  earth 

whom  I  desire  besides.     Thou  art  to  me,  as  thou  wert  to 

David  at  the  gates  of  death,  '  All  my  salvation  and  all 

my  desire.' "     After  so  much  love  on  God's  part  to  us, 

displayed  in  rich  variety  of  type  and  shadow,  shall  we 

count  any  sacrifice  hard  ?     Could  not  even  a  Heathen 

say  of  his  ideal  virtue — 


"  Serpens,  sitis,  ardor,  arense, 


Dulcia  virtuti."     (Lucan,  B.  ix.) 

Ver.  34.     *'  These  are  the  commandments,  which  the  Lord  commanded 
Moses,  for  the  children  of  Israel  in  Mount  Sinai." 

At,  or  near  Sinai.  The  sultry  heat  of  that  day  when 
the  fiery  law  was  given,  prepared  the  people  to  welcome 
these  showers  of  grace  that  soon  after  fell.  Lord,  make 
us  enjoy  these  showers,  even  if  there  be  need  of  such  a 
day  of  heat  and  fear  ere  it  come.  Let  every  drop  from 
these  blessed  clouds  wet  the  soil  of  our  hearts.  Thou 
who  art  known  in  Israel  as  the  giver  of  plenteous  showers 
to  refresh  thy  weary  heritage,  cause  these  that  fell  around 


CHAPTER  XXVII.  507 

Sinai,  as  we  have  seen  in  all  this  book — these  that  show- 
ed so  much  of  the  variety  of  thy  love — these  that  brought 
such  tidings  of  thy  Son — oh,  cause  these  to  water  our 
weary,  parched  souls,  until  we  see  Him  who  is  "rivers 
of  water." 


Thus  have  we  come  to  the  close  of  our  pleasant  under- 
taking. We  have  traversed  the  tabernacle  courts,  in- 
quiring into  ''  its  meats  and  drinks^  and  divers  ivashings 
and  carnal  ordinances^  imposed  on  them  until  the  time 
of  reformation.''''  (Heb.  ix.  10.)  Had  we  looked  on  them 
apart  from  what  they  signified,  we  must  have  grown 
weary  ere  we  had  well  begun.  But  searching  into  their 
meaning,*  we  have  found  that  these  "  carnal  ordi- 
nances^''^ i.  e.,  those  ceremonies  that  consisted  in  the  use 
of  earthly  and  material  things,  are  all  fragrant  with  G-os- 
pel  truth.  And  we  plainly  see  why  the  Lord  should 
have  "  imposed  them^''^  i.  e.,  enjoined  them,  and  made  it 
incumbent  on  Israel  to  observe  them.  He  saw  in  each 
of  them  some  picture  or  foreshadowing  of  the  coming 
Redeemer.  The  "  time  of  reformation^''  has  come  ;  i.  e., 
the  time  when  a  better  mode  of  teaching  the  same  truth 
has  been  brought  in,  types  being  now  displaced  by  the 
antitypes,  shadows  by  the  substance.  But  while  this 
"  reformation,"  or  better  mode  of  teaching  truth,  has 
come,  we  still  look  back  and  study,  with  profit  and  de- 
light, the  symbols  of  the  old  economy  that  pictured  forth 
the  coming  of  "  better  things."     I  still  retain  a  vivid  re- 

*  Not,  however,  altogether  as  Jerome  would  have  had  us  do,  when  he 
says,  "  Leviticus  liber,  a  quo  singula  sacrificia,  immo  singulse  psene  syllabae, 
et  vestes  Aaron,  et  totus  ordo  Leviticus,  spirant  cselestia  sacramenta." 
(Epist.  ad  Paulinum.) 


508  CONCLUSION. 

membrance  of  the  impression  made  on  me  many  years 
ago,  in  the  divinity  class  of  Dr.  Chalmers,  when  that 
illustrious  man  of  G-od  referred  to  this  subject.  He  was 
remarking  how  oftentimes  Christians,  advancing  in  years, 
feel  a  growing  relish  for  the  types,  and  prophecies,  and 
sketches  of  character,  and  pieces  of  picturesque  history 
in  which  the  Old  Testament  abounds.  They  see  them 
pervaded  with  New  Testament  principle  and  truth. 
''There  is,"  he  said,  "in  this  employment,  somewhat 
even  of  the  charm  and  delight  of  poetry.  It  is  a  regal- 
ing, as  well  as  satisfactory  exercise."  Very  pleasant  as 
were  the  songs  of  Zion  to  good  Bishop  Home,  as  every 
morning  roused  him  to  his  task,  and  the  silence  of  even- 
ing invited  him  to  pursue  it;  very  pleasant  to  many  a 
humble  Christian  are  the  things  which  G-od  hath  spoken 
at  sundry  times,  and  in  divers  manners,  to  the  fathers  by 
the  prophet.  It  is  as  if  the  delights  of  imagination  were 
superadded  to  the  delights  of  piety,  when  the  doctrines 
of  the  New  are  expressed  in  the  drapery  of  the  Old  econ- 
omy. And  if  there  be  any  aged  Christian  who  has 
leisure  to  pursue  the  employment,  we  promise  him  not  a 
different,  but  the  same  Gospel,  seen  through  a  veil  of 
ever-brightening  transparency,  and  heightened  by  time 
and  youthful  remembrances.  Thus  the  decaying  lights 
of  age  have  often  been  revived  again  ;  and,  in  the  solace 
of  the  perusal,  such  men  have  experienced  that  these 
things  were  written  not  alone  for  the  generations  that 
then  lived,  but  for  "our  admonition,  on  whom  the  ends 
of  the  world  have  come." 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Abel  and  Cain 39 

Aaron  consecrated 187 

Acts  ii.  43 462 

viii.  33 359 

X.  4 44,413 

12 214 

XV.  20 328 

Adam's  sin 238,  309 

Adjuration 90 

Altar  of  brass  purified Ill 

onEbal 341 

of  gold 74 

,  horns  of 74 

Araos  V.  22 57 

Animal  food 321 

Ark 466 

Ascension  of  Christ 193 

Ashes  of  sacrifice 77,  122 

Atonement 18,72,107 

Atonement  day 300,  416 

requisites  of,  107,  205 

Azazel 304 

B 

Bearing  sin 205,  6 

Bells 161 

Birds,  the  two  used  in  leprosy     269 

Bitter  herbs 401 

Blessing  on  Israel 470 

Blood.. 23,75,132,173,326 

Brass  of  the  altar 153 

of  the  laver 154 

Bread  of  God 432 

Bread  on  golden  table 434 

Breastplate 380 

Breast,  the 145,177 

Broken  heart 151 

Burnt-offering 18,  99 


C 

PAGE 

Canaan,  sins  of 361 

Calvary 121 

Camp,  carried  without ...     77,  131 

Candlestick 427-431 

Cedar-wood 269 

Cherubim 467 

Christ,  suffering  of,     18,  23,  27,  179 

resurrection  of  . .     272,  307 

's  three-fold  office,     156,  159 

ascension  and  second 

coming 193-195 

true  humanity  . .     381,  456 

Church  government 370 

1  Chron.  xxiii.  13 210 

2  Chron.  iii.  and  iv 466 

iv.  19 434 

xxxviii.  24 122 

Clean  beasts 203 

Clean  place 78,  121 

Colos.  i.  20 312 

Confession  of  sin 95 

Consecration 149,  181 

Consanguinity,  degree  of      331-336 

1  Cor.  v.  10 502 

xiii.  4,  6 349 

2  Cor.  V.  21 190 

v.  14 89,  468 

Cross,  the 146 

Cup  of  salvation 56 

Cut  off 141 

D 

David's  threefold  office 159 

Davison  on  sacrifice 36 

Daniel  ix.  24,  25 188,  189 

xii.  13 451 

Dead  carcasses 92 

Debt 348 


510 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Demoniacs 4*79 

Devils 323 

Deut.  xi.  29 340 

xiv.  6 215 

xxxii.  14 59 

^—30 475 

Domestic  duties 329 

Dove 31,97,240,279,293 

Drink-offerings 53 

E 

Ears  of  corn  dried 52 

Earthen  vessels 130,  232,  271 

Ebal  and  Gerizzim 340-3 

Eden,  sacrifice  at  the  gate  of .       36 

Eccles.  V.  6 105 

Egypt,  diseases  of 479 

Ephod 158 

robe  of 161 

girdle  of 161 

David's 159 

Gideon's 159 

Micah's 159 

Ephes.  ii.  18 21,155 

V.  2 28 

V.  18 204 

Eve  remembered 23^>,  296 

Exodus  iii.  15 413,  437 

xiii.  34 400 

xxiv 150 

xxvi.  31 468 

xxviii.  30 164 

XXX.  25 169 

• xxxviii.  8 153,  494 

Ezekiel's  temple.  .  .  .     Introduction 
Ezekiel  xxiv.  15 202,  373 

xxviii.  13 163 

xxxiv.  3 66 

xxxvi.  27 476 

xliv.  7 64 

xliv.  21 202 

xlv.  15 41 

F 

Faith 21 

Fcxt 26,  59,  66,  142 

Fall,  the 296,  352,  416 

Female  sacrifices 86,  96 

Fire 26,  117,  119,  121 

First-born,  were  they  priests  ?  22,  23 
First-fruits,  green  ears  of  corn       52 

ripe  barley,  sheaf. .     401 


PAGE 

Flaying  sacrifices 24 

Flour,  offering  of 42,  99 

Forbidden  fruit  remembered.     352 

Forty  days 239 

Frankincense 43 

G 

Galatians  iii.  22 247 

28 240 

Garments  of  the  Priest. .     158,  161 

Genesis  iv.  7 101 

Girdle 161 

Goat 66 

Goel 466 

Gold 153 

Golden  plate 166 

Green  ears 52 

H 

Heave-offerings 136 

Hebrews  ii.  10 182 

iii.  2 205 

iv.  9 444 

V.  2 70 

V.  9 182,185 

vii.  26 182,301 

vii.  27 186,207 

vii.  28 182 

ix.  23 309 

ix.  10 607 

X.  5 175 

X.14 182 

X.  20  ... 73,  468 

xii.  23 182 

xii.  28,  29 194 

xiii.  12 80 

xiii.  15 61 

Holy  place.  .124,  203,  204,  276,  435 

Holy  of  holies 154 

name   for   the 

Priest 210 

Honey 49 

Horns,  Altar  of 74 

Hosea  ii.  19 363 

iv.  8 130 

xiv.  3 356 


—  ripe  wheat,  loaf  405,  406 


Huntsmen  in  Israel 327 

Hyssop 269,270 

I,  J 

Ignorance,  sins  of 69,  70 

Imputed  sin 72 


INDEX. 


511 


Inadvertency,  sins  of ^0 

Incense 74,306,307 

Issue  of  blood 288 

James  ii.  22 182 

Jeremiah  ii.  15 482 

-iii.  14 363 


xxxiii.  13, 


505 

Jerusalem,  New 163 

Jephtha's  vow 494-6 

Jobxix.  25 456 

John  iii.  5 272 

vi.  51 380 

vi.  53 326 

vii.  37 422 

xii.  24 407 

xiii.  10 157,272 

XV.  5 248 

xvii.  19 168 

xix.  23 160 

xix.  29 270 

xix.  30 271 

xix.  34 271,326 

xix.  38 121 

1  Johnii.  5   183 

iii.  4 92,221 

iv.  17,  18 44,183 

V.6 271 

Joseph  of  Arimathea 121 

Joshua  viii.  30 341 

xxiii.  10 475 

Isaiah  i.  5 249 

i.  6 340 

iv.  4 298 

xi.  10,  8 448,481 

xxiv.  10 281 

xxvii.  13 449 

xxxiii.  22 282 

xlviii.  18  , 471 

liii.  5 242 

liii.  6 83,206 

liii.  7,  8 29,359 

liii.  9 121 

liii.  11 

. Iv.  2 


PAGS 

Jude23 178,261 

Judges  viii.  27 159 

ix.  9-13 54,  55 

xi.  30 494 

xvii.  5 159 


206 

63 

-Iviii.  3,  14 319 

-Ixi.  1,  2 448 


—  Ixii.  6. 

—  Ixii.  9. 

—  Ixiii.  4. 


Judgments 329 

Justice 357 

K 

1  Kings  vi.  and  vii 466 

xiii.  24 481 

2  Kings  ii.  24 481 

iv.  42 402 

xvii.  26 482 


Lamb 31 

Laver 154 

Leaven 46,49,136,401 

Leprosy 242 

in  garments 261 

in  houses 279 

Levites 25 

Lewdness 329 

Linen  garment 118 

Luke  ii.  22 241 

V.  14 275 

xiii.  7 353 

32 182 

xviii.  3 306 

xxii.  16 399 

xxii.  20 55 


—  Ixvi.  17. 
-Ixvi.  20, 
-Ixvi.  24. 
-Ixvi.  3. 


479 
125 
449 
228 

41 
200 

44 


M 


Malachi  i.  7  . , 
ii.  11 


Jubilee,  year  of 417,  448 


64 

363 

Matthew  viii.  5 275,  277 

xiii.  24 351 

xiii.  47 2i!l 

xvi.  26 504 

xix.  8 336 

xix.  29 451 

xxvi.  15 495 

xxvi.  63 91 

Mark  i.  44 275 

V.  29 289,  296 

ix.  5 423 

ix.  7,  8 476 

ix.  44 122 

Meat-offering 38,123 

Meek 141 

Memorial 412,  437 


512 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Mercy-seat 476 

Micah  vi.  8 492 

Minister's  afflictions  ....     300,  373 

character 387 

preaching 435 

Mitre  of  the  High  Priest 166 

Moses,  type  of  threefold  office  159 

Molech 362 

Mourning 354 

Nadab  and  Abihu 197 

Name,  the 436,  437 

Nehemiah  vii.  65 166 

viii.  15 420,  421 

North  side  of  the  Altar 29 

Numbers  xvi.  38 153 

xxii.  26 88 

xxix.  12 423 

O 

Oil 42,178 

"Once" 73 

Onyx-stone 162 

Original  sin 238 

P 

Pardon,  immediate 290,  297 

Partnership 110 

Passover 898 

Peace-offering 57,  134 

Pentecost 405 

1  Peter  iii.  18 73 

2  Peter  i.  19 432 

• ii.  22 218 

ii.  24 206 

Philippians  ii.  9 436 

iv.  18 49 

Pomegranate  and  bells 162 

Poor,  Gospel  preached  to. . .  . 

31,  46,  96,  279,  293,  493 

Presence,  angel  of 432 

bread  of 432 

Priest,  Duties  of,  Ac 426 

Priesthood 152 

Proverbs  vii.  14 67 

viii.  34 180 

xiii.  6 102 

xiv.  9 115 

Psalm  iv.  3,  5 150,  493 

xix.  12 70 

XX.  4 119 


PAOK 

Psalm   xxii.  27 141 

xxxiv.  20 98 

xxxviii.  5,  7 242 

xl.  6 174 

xl.  8 165 

xlv.  8 169 

Ii.  16 151 

Iv.  15 493 

Iviii.  10 200 

Ixiii.  5 63 

Ixvi.  13 67 

Ixix.  31 28 

Ixxv.  6 30 

Ixxviii.  49 479 

Ixxxi.  3 414 

Ixxxiv.  4 133,  180 

Ixxxviii.  4 258 

Ixxxviii.  7 22 

Ixxxix.  15 411 

xcvi.  12 423,  445 

cvii.  22 135 

cxvi.  13 56 

cxvi,  17 136 

cxix.  108 137 

cxxxii.  16 166 

cxxxiii.  2 1'69 

cxlvi.  9 356 

E, 

Redeemer 456 

Relative  duties 344 

Resurrection  of  Christ  . .     272,  307 

believers  ....     229 

Restitution 107,  113 

of  all  things 418 

Revelations  i.  10 403 

i.  13 162 

iii.  4 179,261 

iii.  16 339 

V.  5-7 459 

V.  8  ... 307,  459 

viii.  4 306,  307 

xvi.  15 177 

xix.  3 200 

Romans  i.  23-26 330 

viii.  20 236 

xi.  32 247 

Rich  men 347 

Ruth  iv.  3-6 456,  459 

S 

Sabbatic  year 442 

Sabbath..     396,403,472,473,486 


INDEX. 


513 


Sacrifices,  origin  of  Mosaic. . .  36 

of  righteousness  ...  150 

of  God 151 

Salt 51 

Samuel's  three-fold  ofl&ce. ...  159 

1  Samuel  i.  24 55 

ii.  3 501 

ii.  18 159 

iii.  3 427 

X.  3 56 

XV.  3 503 

xxvi.  19 41 

xxviii.  6 i66 

XXX.  1 159 

2  Samuel  i.  21 503 

Scape  goat 303 

Sea  of  brass 466 

Serpent 235 

Seven 73 

Seven  days 273 

Shekel  of  sanctuary 501 

Shelomith's  son 436 

Show-bread 432 

Shittim-wood 154 

Shoulder 145,192 

Sin,  what  is  ? 143 

original 238 

secret 288 

Sin-offering 69,  129 

Skins 77 

Slavery 463 

Solomon's  temple 466,  467 

Song  of  Solomon  iv.  6 43 

viii.  6 122 

Stones  of  breastplate 379 

Strangled  things 328 

Stranger 359 

Substitution 325 

Sweet  savor 28,87 

Swine 216 


Tabernacle 17 

Tabernacles,  feast  of 417 

Table  of  show-bread 430 


PAQB 

TeXfiojo-jf 182 

Temple  of  Solomon .........     466 

Ezekiel,  Introduction. 

Testimony,  ark  of 428 

1  Thessalonians  v.  17 427 

v.  22 216 

Third  day 139 

1  Timothy  i.  13 108 

vi.  5 452 

Tithes 107,504 

Titus  ii.  12 492 

Transfiguration,  the 423,  476 

Trade 110 

Trespass-offering 95,  103,  132 

Trinity,  the 154 

Trumpets,  feast  of 411 

Types,  Introduction. 

U 

Unleavened  bread,  feast  of  . .     399 

Urim  and  Thummim 163 

Union 475 

V 

Veil 73,467 

Vows 493 

Washing 228,  229,  293 

Water 271,272 

in  laven 154 

in  earthen  vessel  ....     270 

living 271,293 

Wave-offering 137,  145 

loaves 406,  407 

Weeks,  feast  of 405 

Wine 53 

Z 

Zechariah  ix.  12 449 

xiii.  1 298 

Zephaniah  iii.  17 272 


A 


DATE  DUE 


CAVLORO 


xm:-"^^  f. 


:^'^ 


